


The Cut

by BaconWaffle16



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: 707 Route (AU), Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Comedy, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Mint Eye is still a problem, Multi, Mutual Masturbation, Named MC, Oral Sex, Out of Character, Romantic Comedy, Saeran is still a woobie that needs to be rescued, Some Spoilers, also, mostly Yoosung, short-haired MC, slight AU, sort of...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-09-16 20:39:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9288704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaconWaffle16/pseuds/BaconWaffle16
Summary: It’s been months since MC has joined the RFA. Months since she and Seven had a fight that nearly broke their friendship (and more?). Months since they all discovered the identity of Unknown, and the organization that had brainwashed him into becoming their hacker. Months since V officially disappeared, leaving more questions than answers.MC decides to make a personal change. Out of all the RFA members, Seven finds that he really likes this change.Reallylikes it. Like, holy shit, someone please rescue this already troubled nerd before he explodes.





	1. The Cut

**Author's Note:**

> Lol, just when I thought I couldn't become more fandom trash, I discover this little shit show of a mobile app. Like, what the fuck? I'm too old and world weary for dating sims... (HA!)
> 
> Anyway, so some notes:  
> -this is a sort-of AU of the 707 Route. Which I'll admit I have not played, but _want_ to, because I'm a sucker for angsty romances that endure through problems.
> 
> -that being said, no; he and MC didn't get together after the first party. For multiple reasons, but mostly because they were hurting too much from all that had happened. (Including some bad things that happened between them...)
> 
> -however, eventually, they did become friends again. Things are still a little tense, but also bordering on the normal they had before shit hit the fan with Mint Eye and Saeran. It's slowly becoming more comfortable, even though both clearly (at least to everyone else in the RFA) want...more.
> 
> -MC was heavily involved in the confrontation with Mint Eye, resulting in her getting injured. More on that later, if people are curious.
> 
> And warning:  
> I've only played at least two routes in the game, so please be aware that things will be different. Some characters will be OOC. MC is being treated as a character with a name. The comedy here is outrageous and cheesy as all hell. All that jazz.

* * *

MC swallowed as she looked up at the sign. Then she stared into the window, noticing the women who were walking inside, either in chairs or holding hairdryers, scissors, conditioner, or anything else as they prepared to style hair, and—

Her hand reached for her long brown hair, and curled into it. It had really grown too long, long enough to reach past her waist. When was the last time she’d gone for a trim? The last time it’d been at a length that was at least manageable? MC couldn’t even remember.

At the same time, though—shit, she’d worked hard for this hair! All that time spent conditioning it, brushing it meticulously, and preventing any dead ends...How was MC going to survive without most of it? What did she even look like with a bob? What would the RFA think?

_What would Seven think?_

MC bit her lip in thought. She had been rather careful since she and Seven started speaking again. There was still a lot they’d yet to talk about—such as what they were going to do about Mint Eye and Saeran, who had escaped during a confrontation months ago and had yet to be cured of his brainwash; and how they could fix the damage between their friendship (the results of miscommunication, stubbornness, and a _lot_ of mistakes from both parties)—but they were both trying this time, MC noted with pride. They were both trying to be honest with each other, both trying to mend whatever their relationship was during the first week MC had joined the RFA. They were both trying and learning to trust each other. They were both trying to be friends again.

...And MC just realized that all that progress would be thrown out the window the minute she came into C&R with most of her hair chopped off.

_Maybe I should just go—_

“Oh, hey,” one of the salon ladies called from the door, smiling warmly. “Are you Lin’s 9 o’clock?”

MC smiled back, sweating a little. “Guess so?”

“Wash and trim, right?”

 _...Well, no going back now._ MC swallowed. “A-actually, I’m hoping for a cut?”

* * *

Yoosung sighed and leaned on his palm, his elbow propped on the meeting desk. “When is MC getting here? It’s almost 9...” 

“Relax,” Jumin said, as he sipped his coffee and read through the newest reports. “The meeting starts at 9:30am. She has enough time.”

“Yeah, well, she should get here sooner. It gets so boring when she’s not here~”

Without looking up from his laptop, Seven swatted the back of Yoosung’s head, his expression unmoving as Yoosung cried out.

“Knock it off, she’s not your personal toy,” he said.

Yoosung held the back of his head, his purple eyes tearing a little as he glared at Seven. Then, after a moment, his mouth spread into a sly grin that was too despicable on such an innocent face.

“Oh, but she’s _yours_ , right?”

Seven faltered in his typing, nearly choking, before remembering himself. He cleared his throat and turned to send a sharp gaze to Yoosung.

“That’s _not_ what I said.”

Yoosung raised an eyebrow, his grin only becoming more wry. From next to him, Jaehee cleared her throat and decided to finally speak up, also carrying a small, too knowing smile.

“To be fair, Luciel,” she said. “You and MC have been spending a lot of time together.”

_...Damn it._

“If it’s not on the chat,” Yoosung added, “it’s over the phone. Zen says it’s borderline obnoxious.”

Seven faltered. _Shit, how much has Zen heard?_ “W-we have a lot to talk about!”

“Enough to last a couple of hours?” Jumin spoke up, his left eyebrow raising with a small smirk.

Face flaming, he swallowed. _Shit._

“Sounds like true love to me!” Yoosung chuckled.

“I-i-it’s not like that!” Seven whipped around to look at him, his eyes wide and his ears pink. “MC and I...we just talk. As friends.”

 _And only friends_ , he reminded himself for the thousandth time, hating how his pulsing heart betrayed him. _That’s all we can ever be...and that’s fine._

Because he didn’t deserve to be anything else to her. Not after all the shit he put her through all those months ago, all the things that happened to her in Mint Eye.

The three other RFA members stared at him with flat expressions. Jumin and Jaehee shared a look, and both shrugged. It honestly wasn’t their business. However, Yoosung kept staring at Seven with a soft, empathetic gaze.

He sighed and started, “Seven, listen—”

The door slammed open.

“I’M SO SORRY,” MC exclaimed as she nearly ran inside, her breath shallow. She looked over at Jumin, then the rest of the RFA that could make the meeting. “Am I too late?”

Jumin turned to tell her that she was on time, but then froze. His eyes went wide as his mouth clamped shut. Jaehee raised an eyebrow and followed his lead—only for her jaw to drop, her glasses slipping down her nose. Yoosung blinked at MC and grinned wide, his cheeks flushing.

And Seven, well—

 _Motherfucker, are you fucking serious!_ With hands tightly clenching his armrest, he took in MC with wide gold eyes, a dry throat, and a blush that nearly matched his hair. Seven reached for the tie around his throat and tried to loosen it as discreetly as he could. _This is so not fucking fair..._

—Because there MC stood in the doorway. Light makeup, brown eyes as wide and cute as ever behind new glasses, and a well put together blue suit (including a pencil skirt, _Fuck me_ ) and sheer stockings that wrapped around her so perfectly. But that wasn’t all that was making his heart stop and jump start all over again.

It was her hair.

Short, but not too short. Borderline pixie cut, but still enough bounce and body to frame her face with slightly curled ends. Enough to show off her smooth, _unmarked_ neck that always made his heart stutter whenever she’d put up her previously long hair. Short, but enough for his fingers to tangle into the soft, _soft_ locks and tug back as he’d _fu_ —

 _Nope. Nope nope nope_ , Seven swallowed hard and forced his wild gaze back to his laptop. _Stopping that train of thought **right now**._

“MC, y-your hair,” Jaehee said.

“It’s beautiful!” Yoosung finished, spreading his arms in his excitement. “When did you cut it?”

MC smiled, her shoulders slumping with relief. “Just yesterday.”

“It looks good,” Jumin agreed, looking more composed as he smiled. “Why the change?”

MC blinked and lifted a hand to curl a finger into a random strand of hair, humming in thought with pouting red lips.

( _Just kill me now, will you?_ Seven cried out mentally, apparently having no self-control at all, even as he once again tried to focus on his laptop.)

“I dunno,” she said finally, loosening the strand from her finger. She smiled at them and shrugged, rather sheepish. “Guess I just wanted a change.”

Jumin nodded, his smile widening a fraction. He glanced over at Seven, and his eyes flashed; very much like a cat cornering prey.

“Luciel, what do you think of MC’s hair?”

Seven choked and sent a slight glare at his new boss from behind his laptop. _...Jumin, I swear, I will end you one day. And take Elly, too, right as you’re dying._

But then he realized everyone was staring at him, including MC—who was starting to fidget, looking all nervous and _insecure_ —and Seven panicked.

“It’s good!” He nearly yelled, jumping up, his palms slammed on the meeting table. And as Seven continued speaking, it was like he couldn’t stop, even with his blush getting brighter, “It looks really, really, really, _really_ good! And I really like it, so much that I don’t know how else to describe it, because no word feels good enough and I’m sorry for that, but looking at you right now makes me, makes me—”

Seven noticed how MC started smiling, relieved and flattered with a cute flush, and all he could think is _Beautiful_ , **Want, _Mine_** —

“Thirsty!”

MC blinked. “What.”

Just then, Yoosung snorted so loud and obnoxious that he had to slam a hand over his mouth and turn away, his shoulders trembling. Jaehee dropped her mouth open, and  then closed again, her glasses once again slipping. Jumin grinned behind his propped folded hands.

 _Shit shit shit_ , is all Seven thought in a furious mantra, even as he offered MC a shaky smile, sweat dripping down his red face. His eyeglasses even started to fog a little.

“Y-yeah, because— _damn_ , this room is hot, isn’t it? I-I just noticed!” He forced a laugh as he tugged on his shirt collar, his business clothes suddenly too tight and everything _burning_. Seven slowly started crab crawling towards the back exit of the conference room. “I’m just gonna go get some Dr. Pepper, or...something. Does anyone want anything? MC, water, maybe?”

MC watched him, blinking once more. “Um, no? I, uh, I think I’ll be okay.”

“Oh, good.” Seven paused in the doorway, staring at her a moment longer than necessary, especially with his eyes wide and dilated like _that_ , and he quickly slipped out. “I’ll be back in a few, bye!”

The minute he closed the door behind him, Yoosung removed his hand from his mouth and finally let out the loud bouts of laughter he’d been holding, doubling over.

“Oh. My. God!” He cried in between breaths. “I need to...message Zen, ‘cause that...was _gold_!”

Jaehee groaned and met her face with her palm. “What is even my life.”

“I _can’t_ , ha-ha—”

Jumin seemed to be preening to himself, his grin wide and curled. _Oh, this will get interesting~_

 Meanwhile, MC stood at the front of the conference room with her mouth opening and closing, making her resemble a fish.

_What the hell...?_


	2. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven is in deep shit. This time, with his emotions. (OH NOOOO~)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Seven's thirst just gets realer. Also, Westworld (HBO) references. :D

Seven was in trouble.

Well, okay, correction: Seven had always in trouble, even when he was a child and trying to figure out how he was going to save himself and his brother; and it only got worse when he became an adult.

You don’t spend a good portion of your life in an agency where you can no doubt lose your life without constantly falling into trouble. But at least that trouble was something he could control! If there was a hacker threatening the agency, or worst, the RFA, Seven would hack them right back, ten-fold. If an organization was targeting those he loved, he was going to fight them back—especially if someone he loved got hurt.

Even now, now that the agency had “let him go,” Seven knew he and his friends were still in trouble. After all, Mint Eye was still out there; _Saeran_ was still out there. And the only person who could probably clue them in on what the hell is going on (*cough*V*cough*) has disappeared. There was still a lot of work to do before everyone could be safe again.

While this trouble will be difficult to solve, it was still easy for Seven to process. He did his best work under pressure.

 _This_ , however—

 _I’m in hell_ , Seven thought while listening to MC talk about the latest episode of her favorite series. She had gone on a break a little while ago, and decided to spend it in the IT Department, specifically at Seven’s desk. _I’m in hell, and MC is my keeper._

“—and then William just puts on the black hat, and he turns into the bad guy! I mean, I saw it coming, of course,” MC was gushing with flushed cheeks and gleaming eyes, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “And then Dolores—”

Seven felt his heart flutter as he tried to keep up with her. _My beautiful, beautiful keeper..._

Oh, yeah. He was in deep, _deep_ trouble with this girl.

A huge part of Seven was heavily disappointed with himself. After all, he’d just gotten used to being friends with MC again, a status he didn’t think he’d be privileged to ever again. He just started getting used to the brutal reality that they will never been more than that, that MC no longer felt the same as she might have all those months ago. ( _And honestly, why should she?_ )

That ship had set sail and gone as soon as Seven had told her how little her feelings meant to him, as soon as MC’s patience finally ran thin—

_“I **hate** you, Seven!”_

—MC hadn’t meant it, of course. Seven understood that now, even though the memory still _hurt_. And by now, she understood that he hadn’t meant a word of what he’d said either, especially after that brutal confrontation with Saeran.

_“Seven...I’m sorry. I was wrong to say that—”_

In many ways, Seven knew he should have still kept his distance. But even with all the mess and hurt they caused each other, all because of miscommunication and poorly made assumptions, Seven also knew he couldn’t resist MC’s olive branch offer of friendship when she messaged him weeks after the party. It had taken some time and some distance, but things were more or less back to normal between them. A comfortable, purely _platonic_ normal.

It was something Seven had resolved to live with, something he refused to ruin again because of something as insignificant as his _feelings_.

And then in walks MC, with a new haircut that made his toes curl and his hands twitch, longing to touch.

Might as well put a fork in him, ‘cause Seven knew he was absolutely _done_.

And the worst part?—

“...Seven, are you listening?”

“Huh?” Seven blinked out of his dreamy state, his rather goofy smile shrinking into a confused frown, and noticed that MC was leaning over his desk, staring at him.

She nearly smirked. “Did you even hear what I said?”

“Um...something about Hosts starting the Robopocalypse in your show?” Seven chuckled, his cheeks a little pink.

“Well, almost! I haven’t even gotten to that part yet.” She leaned forward, the collar of her green sleeveless blouse shifting enough to unknowingly show Seven a hint of _too much_ , and lightly flicked his forehead.

“You sail off to space on me?” MC asked, her voice soft and playful.

“I apologize, MC, but you know I can’t resist when my mother ship calls me.” Seven teased back with a beaming grin. “But I am back on Earth, ready to give you my attention.”

MC smiled softly, her lips shining slightly from the lip gloss she’d put on that morning— _Peaches_ , Seven could smell faintly, and his mouth watered—and playfully flicked her short, _short_ hair.

“That’s more like it,” she said with a haughty wink. “Now, where was I...?”

— _The worst part of this situation_ , Seven realized as he watched MC, falling deeper in love despite all the painful reasons why he shouldn’t, _is that there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to stop._


	3. Not Okay (I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite it being months since her “stay” with Mint Eye, and despite all her attempts to be otherwise, MC finds that she is still not okay. And that’s okay.
> 
> Warning: The dream sequences might be a disturbing to a lot of readers. Take note, they are written in second person. MC is also naked and the subject of abuse and torture. Nothing that goes beyond the T rating, though. (Except maybe extra foul language.)

* * *

The room is dark, except for the overhead light that nearly blinds you. You shift your gaze around, but the movement is too sluggish, almost lazy. Even the urge to move your hands and feet—which you dully realize are bound with leather straps—and to arch away from the cool slab of metal they put you on, all of that just _exhausts_ you. Something prickles from the back of your mind, like a memory; and one with two warnings.

 _What have they been injecting into me?_ And, _How long have I been here?_

The last thought sends a chill right to your bones, one that nearly sobers you from the dope. Because the fact is you don’t know. You don’t know who these people are, what they’ve been doing to you, or even if there’s a chance for escape. _You don’t know._

Here is what you do know:

One; Seven is a dick. But he’s a dick who had a point—you brought trouble into the RFA, into his life.

Two; Knowing this and not wanting to make things worse, you called Unknown and offered him a deal—

_“Disable the bomb, and I’ll come to you. I’ll give you what you want. Just please, leave them out of it.”_

—and then, while Seven was taking one of his rare naps/breaks from working, you snuck out of Rika’s apartment to meet him.

And three; That was a mistake. A _huge_ one.

You don’t remember all the details, except the faint memory of people in black uniforms (a green eye stitched to their shoulders) grabbing you, covering your screams, and dragging you into a white van. You remember Unknown being there, his silver fringe covering his mint green eyes and grinning at you madly—

“So, you’re awake. Good.”

* * *

Yoosung knew something was wrong when he saw how MC was working at her desk.

He had been leaning out to start a conversation with her, because the life of an intern—even a paid one—was rather boring, and he was the sort of person who needed some socialization. Even if it could only be fulfilled through whispers through next door cubicles.

So, with a beam, he was about to speak—but then he noticed.

MC was staring ahead at her computer screen, her hands typing away at a sluggish pace, rather than the rapid energy she usually had. Her eyes were dull, clouded, even through her eye glasses. Even her frown had a dullness to it, like she wasn’t even conscious of it. Like she wasn’t even here.

And Yoosung took a closer look, his mind racing. _When...when did her wrists look so thin? Is she even eating? Sleeping? But why—_

Without meaning to, his eyes were drawn to _that_ eye. The eye that was duller than the other, the one that MC almost lost if it hadn’t been for that miraculous ophthalmologist Jumin knew. The eye that Mint Eye nearly took.

Yoosung swallowed, his stomach dropping with a sick, knowing dread.

* * *

_No._

A leg swings over your naked body, and someone straddles your hips. His head blocks the light a little, but the glimmers still shine through around him, like a halo. He leans forward and tilts his head, his green eyes glimmering with something that almost looked lucid, his mouth set into a straight line. He is looking at you like you’re a new toy, like he’s trying to figure how you work; like he’s studying you. 

Then he reaches out to touch your face, his cold hand stroking your cheek. And then he grins. You feel your stomach swoop, much like the first time you rode a huge rollercoaster with your dad; all the sick, but without the thrill.

“I think I understand now, what they all see in you—what _he_ sees,” Unknown says, trailing his fingers down your neck, a mock caress. “There is something untouched about you. Not exactly _innocent_ , but something that’s still as sweet. And considering how messed up they all are, in so _many_ ways...”

He trails one finger down and slowly strokes circles into your collar bones, a wide smirk spreading across his face as he feels your rapid pulse. That chill returns, causing you to tremble and attempt pulling at the leather binds.

“Well, it’s no surprise they all want you.”

You feel your mouth open, but what comes out is too weak and raw. His smirk just grows wider, his eyes narrowing.

And then, a door slides open.

“Saeran, don’t be crude to our guest.”

* * *

One early Saturday morning, Jaehee found MC in the company gym, punching away at hanging sandbag like she wanted to destroy it. The look in her only showing eye was hard, but also clouded—like she was somewhere else, like she was _punching_ someone else—while her other eye was covered with an eye patch. Her hair was left loose, since it was now short enough for her to practice without strands getting in her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing hard, but MC did not slow her punches.

Jaehee watched as MC threw one punch, two, three, and then delivered a high kick to the punching bag, and she felt her stomach twist a little.

Even so, she kept her voice casual as she asked, “Mind if I join you?”

MC broke out of whatever fantasy battle she’d been in, and threw a wide eyed look at Jaehee. After taking in one deep breath, exhaling, and repeating one more, MC stood up straight and nodded. 

In a matter of minutes, the women walked towards the center of the room and circled around each other until they reached a spot that felt right. Even as Jaehee took her stance, she eyed MC with soft amber eyes and a small frown. She watched as MC balled her hands into fists and took her own stance, her eye narrowed with determination.

On any other day, Jaehee would be eager to spar with MC. Honestly, she enjoyed any small time she could spend with MC, so when MC had asked for Judo lessons a month ago, Jaehee had been thrilled. But today...

“MC?”

“Yeah?”

“Are...are you all right?”

MC blinked and stared at Jaehee. With a frown, she shifted her gaze to the side in thought. It was only a moment, but it was enough for Jaehee to note the dark circles growing under MC’s eyes, and how sallow her skin had become.

Despite so, MC smiled. Jaehee narrowed her eyes when she saw how small it was.

“Can you ask me that after you kick my ass?” She asked.

Jaehee frowned harder a moment, but nodded. They would talk after the spar; or at least, she would find some conversation topic to bring some cheer to MC’s eyes.

* * *

_...Who is that?_ You open your eyes, try to see who that could be.

Something in Unknown changes. He sits up and directs a bright smile to the person, looking very much like a child. There’s something about this image that makes you feel worse. ( _He didn’t even realize he was doing something wrong_ , something in you laments in memory.)

“Relax, Boss,” he says. “I was just scaring her.”

“But we don’t want her scared,” they croon, their footsteps clicking as they step towards the table. ( _High heels?_ ) “We want her to like us. We want her to join us.”

Unknown pouts. “But she’s been here _so long_ already. I don’t think she will agree.”

“Then she will become a message. To the RFA, and everyone else.”

Unknown goes blank at that, something glinting in his eyes. _Alarm?_ You can’t help but wonder. Why would he be alarmed for you? Doesn’t he want to hurt you? Just to get back at Seven?

So much of this makes no sense.

But then Unknown grins and nods. “As you say, Boss.”

He slowly gets off you, but keeps looking at you, even as he stands beside the table. He smirks.

“Relax, cupcake,” he tells you, almost cooing. “You’re going to be like me soon, and the process won’t be painless if you keep resisting.”

You feel your eyes widen, and a choked sound flows from your mouth. _No, please...!_

Casting one more glance at the person who walked in, Unknown leans down and whispers one last thing to you. For once, his voice is almost gentle, pleading.

“You better make the right choice. _She_ isn’t as nice as I am when someone tells her no...”

Your heart thuds.

Before you could even try to ask, Unknown walks out of your sight. You hear the door slide open, and he steps out, leaving you alone with the person—the woman that even he fears.

_Who...who is this person?_

“Finally.” _She_ steps forward, close enough to be a shadow near the light. You strain to look at her, to hold on to the memory of her face—but all you really register are her eyes.

Green. Not mint like Unknown’s, to the point that the color looked superficial; not a sick, clouded green like V’s, the sort that indicated a serious injury—no, her eyes were _green_ like **_acid_**. And the smile she is wearing is small, but has a sweetness to it that makes you feel sick.

( _Familiar...but why?_ )

A small, dainty hand rests on your shoulder. In her other hand, she holds something that glints sharply in the light. A knife?

“Now, MC. I think it’s time that you and I finally have a talk.”

* * *

“Okay, break time!” The director cried, clapping his hands. “All of you go get lunch, and we’ll read over the lines again.” 

Zen let out a relieved sigh and slumped against the wall outside the studio. _Finally._

From early this morning to the afternoon, he’d been reading lines for this new web series that would be hitting YouTube pretty soon—some modern retelling of a European fairy tale, or something. He really liked the concept, the script, and so far the rest of the cast seemed really friendly, and rather diverse in culture and language; a breath of fresh air after that chaotic _thing_ he had with Echo Girl when they’d worked together back home. ( _UGH_.) The only issues he really had was how far the new acting job was, and how much time it was taking from his time with the RFA.

 _Speaking of..._   With a smile, Zen took out his phone and opened the RFA app. He scrolled and clicked on the chat. _Wonder who’s online?_

He entered right in the middle of a discussion Jaehee and Yoosung were having. At first, he thought it was only about work, but as he scrolled down to the latest lines, Zen felt his gut drop.

**_Yoosung~_ **

**_Should we do something? She hasn’t been online in days! And she won’t talk about it when I ask her at work..._ **

**_Jaehee_ **

**_I know, I’m worried too. I thought sparring with her might help, but whenever I tried, she’d direct the convo to something else._ **

**_Yoosung~_ **

**_I hope MC is okay..._ **

That was as far as Zen got before he switched the app off and went for his contacts list. Quickly scrolling down, he hit his thumb to MC’s number, put the phone to his ear, and waited.

_“Hey, this is Mi-Cha! I’m not available at the moment, but please leave a message with your number, and I’ll make sure to get back to you.”_

“Hey babe, it’s been a while,” Zen did his usual greeting, making sure to hide his growing worry. “Just wanted to check up on you, make sure Han’s not working you and everyone else to death! How are you? I haven’t seen you on the chat in a while, so...”

He paused, glancing around. While some of the cast and crew had started walking off for outside food, no one was paying attention to him. Zen sighed.

“Listen, MC. I saw the recent chat and noticed that you haven’t been online in a while and...well, I’m not sure what’s going on with you. And I won’t ask, if you won’t tell me. But I just want you to know—we love you. And we are all here when you need us.

“Especially me,” he couldn’t help but add, his tone playful, in a way that always made MC laugh. “You know you could always count on _me_ the most.

“Hope to speak to you soon. Later.”

Zen hung up the call, eyeing his call log with dull red eyes. That had been the fifth time he’d called MC this week. At first, he’d thought she wasn’t doing so because of a particularly difficult assignment Jumin put her on, but now—what if she wasn’t answering calls from anyone?

What was going on?

Staring hard ahead, Zen thought about what to do. He could jump on the next flight back to Korea, but he would end up losing this acting job. He could call one of the other RFA members, to see if they could check on her, but who would be awake and free at this time?

Zen blinked and almost smacked himself. _Duh!_

He quickly scrolled through his contacts.

* * *

Not too long after the syringe injects _something_ into your neck, you begin to spasm and pull desperately at your binds. You register how raw your throat is, how exhausted you are from all the fighting, but you can’t hear yourself scream anymore. All you can register is how your insides are crying from the drug forcing itself into your system, especially your brain, and how much you want to get away from this _damned place_ , and _her_.

It’s hard to describe it happening to you, what this new drug is doing to you. The best way for you to conceptualize it is to think of hands to clay. Your brain is the clay, and the hands trying to mold it, to make you into someone she can _control_ —

“...Why do you continue to be stubborn?” Acid green eyes narrow in the darkness, filled with a mix of frustration and wonder. “Don’t you want paradise...?”

 _NO!_ Not like this. Not if it _hurts_ like this.

“Did you know I read  up on you? Saeran had been kind enough to dig all sorts of info on you.”

_Please, stop...!_

“Dead father, lush mother—”

That makes your heart thrum in rage, and longing. When was the last time you spoke to your mother? Your mother, who is flawed and has been flawed for a long time, but damn it, _she tries._

Will you see her again?

“—college dropout, periodic job jumping, being _evicted_?”

_Die._

“It’s no wonder you went to that apartment so fast,” she says with a laugh. “You must have been desperate.”

Even through the pain, you muster a glare up at her, snarling around the gag she put on you. She just keeps _smiling_.

“Either way, you’re practically textbook. So, really, what can be so good about your life that you’d resist paradise...?”

You keep glaring.

“Fine. Guess we’ll have to use you for something else.”

She finally lifts her free hand, and your heart freezes as the light glints on a sharp blade. Green eyes smirk down at you, and the knife-like object is lifted above you.

“Make sure to give the RFA my regards.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part is coming up!


	4. Not Okay (II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite it being months since her “stay” with Mint Eye, and despite all her attempts to be otherwise, MC finds that she is still not okay. And that’s okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO, where did all this angst and fluff come from? _Ew_...
> 
> Also, there might be hope for Seven yet.

* * *

MC nearly gasped as she woke, her eyes snapped open wide. She was still curled on her bed, her head facing the bedroom wall near her computer. She was still under the thick quilt she bought at the store. She was still in Rika’s apartment.

Even knowing all that, she also felt like she was still there:

That dark room. The cold slab she’d been laid out on. Unknown ( _Saeran_ ) stroking her cheek and petting her like a new pet, a _toy_. The woman, the one Saeran had called “Boss.” The drug. And how the knife sang as it was stabbed into her

_Scalpel_ , MC remembered, unconsciously lifting a hand to hover near her injured eye. _It had been a scalpel._

Remembering that did nothing to dispel the bile rising up her throat. MC immediately slammed a hand to her mouth and ran to her bathroom.

As she leaned over the toilet bowl, shuddering and retching near violently, MC had her wide-eyed realization.

_This is it...this is my life now._

Later that night, when she’d emptied her stomach of all the sick she could, MC rested on her couch. She had wrapped herself in her favorite quilt and was now attempting to watch a new series on Netflix. It was based on a series of books MC had read when her family lived in America for a few years, because of her father’s job. After watching the rather disappointing – but also endearing – film adaptation years ago, MC had been looking forward to this series finally getting the justice it deserved on screen. However, while it had been enjoyable so far, MC couldn’t help but feel rather dull throughout the first episode.

_Fuck it._ There was no way she could concentrate on it, not now. She quickly switched to the Netflix menu and stared.

Leaning her cheek on a pillow, MC reached out for her phone. She quickly scrolled through her contacts and called Jumin, who she knew would be awake. He was probably working, or stroking Elizabeth 3rd’s hair; she hoped he wouldn’t be too bothered.

“Hello?”

“H-hi Jumin.” MC cleared her throat, realizing how raw her voice sounded. “How are you this evening?”

“...I’m well,” Jumin answered, with some hesitation. And then, “What about you?”

MC paused. Should she tell the truth? Her friends have asked her that question so many times this week, in different variations.

_Are you okay, MC?_

“...I’m feeling a little sick. May I take tomorrow—well, _today_ off?” She corrected after checking the time.

A pause. MC could feel that twist in her stomach again. She hoped it wasn’t too much to ask, that Jumin wasn’t upset with her.

“Actually, I think you should take both off.”

MC stared at her phone, blinking wide eyes. “U-um, Jumin, what—”

“I’m telling you to take these next two days off,” Jumin said, his voice firm. “You seem to need it.”

Her lips trembled. _You have no idea..._

“Th-thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Get some rest.”

As he hung up the call, Jumin stared at his phone. He let himself go deep in thought, his fingers stroking Elizabeth 3rd’s fur at a languid pace, while his other hand held a near empty wineglass. He thought of MC, how she’d been looking for the past couple weeks, how she seemed to avoid speaking with him and the other RFA members. He thought of her, and wondered how to fix it.

The question itself was a little foolish. He already knew his answer, even if it was an irritating truth. With narrow eyes, he swiped to his contacts list and started scrolling. 

* * *

Seven was staring intently at his computer screen, which was lit up with the sick green light from Mint Eye’s website. He scrolled up the site, found the link he’d been looking for, and clicked it. He quickly logged in and immediately went for the site’s forums.

_Welcome to Mint Eye! Where all your Magenta Dreams come true..._

He scowled and scrolled down, skimming the forums. There were a few introductory boards for new members, members who’ve transferred from other chapters all over the country— _Oh yeah, that’s how widespread this little shit of a cult is! **Fun**._ —one board that discusses rules and guidelines, different ideas on what “paradise” is, and it just went on _and on_.

Seven honestly was getting close to banging his head against the nearest wall, if not his own desk.

But instead, he just sighed and rolled away from his computer. He rubbed his hands over his exhausted eyes and leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. Shutting his eyes, Seven exhaled and shifted his hands to the back of his neck. When he opened his eyes, he stared down at the floor with eyes clouded in thought.

Information on a meeting place. Even info on how to join, or where he or Vanderwood could listen to a talk from a Mint Eye representative. That was all Seven wanted. It’s all he’d wanted since he and the RFA had stormed the nearest Mint Eye locale, confronted Saeran, and rescued MC from...from...

Seven sat up, tilted his face towards his computer screen again. His eyes hardened, sharpened even through his fatigue.

He was going to turn Mint Eye into nothing but dust. No matter what it took.

Just as he was about to get back to work, Seven heard his phone vibrate. When he leaned to look, he saw it was from Zen and hissed through his teeth. He wanted to ignore it, really, _really_ wanted to—but he’d made a promise to MC and the RFA.

“’Sup roomie,” Seven greeted brightly. “What’s a lovely man like you doing calling me at this time of night?”

“Cut the crap, Luciel,” Zen snapped, his usual response to any of Seven’s flirting ( _Killjoy_ ). “I need to talk.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Have...have you noticed anything strange about MC?”

That made Seven sit up straight, his pulse spiking. “...How do you mean?”

“Like...at work, or something? She hasn’t been on the chat for a while, so I don’t...”

Seven tried to recall the past week or so at work. MC hadn’t visited his desk as much as before. And he had seen her nod off in that one morning meeting...

While Zen continued talking, Seven switched his screens to the camera feed in Rika’s apartment. He hadn’t accessed it in a while, never felt a need to, but just wanted to check.

“...and I’m just getting really, really worried, because...I mean. It’s been what, six months?”

“Six months, three weeks,” Seven said automatically, his eyes darting as he checked each feed.

_Nothing in the hallway...what about living room—ah, there._ His heart clenched at how MC looked as she lay on her couch. _When was the last time she slept?_

On another screen, Seven reversed the footage, to see what the cameras had picked up earlier.

“Yeah, and. She never talks about it?” Zen asked, tentatively.

“No one ever asks,” Seven said, his voice hollow as he watched MC run toward her bathroom to vomit.

“I-isn’t that...I mean, wouldn’t that do something?”

“...”

“...Luciel?”

“I gotta go. Text you later.”

“Wait, wha—” But Seven already hung up. He nearly jumped from his chair and started gathering his things.

_How could I be so stupid?_ He scowled to himself as he got in his car. _Can’t believe I let this happen again, such a fucking—_

_“Meow~”_

If it was possible to make phones explode with death glares, Seven hoped to one day discover the way. (But the power of a hacker could really go so far.)

Still, when he saw that it was Jumin, he immediately picked it up.

“Luciel—”

“Heya boss,” Seven said a little too brightly. “You have perfect timing, wanted to call you later.”

“...Oh?”

“Yeah, I’m taking,” Seven checked his watch, _3:00am_ , “today off. Maybe tomorrow, not sure yet.”

“...Oh. That’s good.”

“Great. Talk later, bye-bye~”

“Wait, Luciel—!”

Seven didn’t bother hanging up, just tossed his phone to the backseat and started up his baby.

* * *

MC was still lying down when she heard her phone ring. She reached back and pulled it up. When she saw the name, her eyes brightened a little; she immediately sat up and answered. 

“Heya, God Seven,” she said with a tired smile. “How’s life defending justice?”

“I apologize, young miss,” a thick, foreign accented but still familiar voice answered. “I know not who this rather dashing fellow is that you’re referencing. I am a banker calling to inform you that your checking account has been hacked.”

MC felt her smile grow. “Oh, _no_! Has something happened with it?”

“Yes, it’s been used for a prank.”

_Oh-ho, this one again~_ “No!” MC placed the back of her hand to her forehead, mocking a swoon. “Sir, is there something I can do?”

“Well,” he said, his voice low in tenor. “There is something.”

MC bit her lip, feeling a shiver go down her spine. She loved when his voice got like that...

“Please, sir, I’ll do anything!”

“...Anything?”

“ _Anything_ ,” she said, trying not to sound breathy.

“Good!” He said, smile in his voice. “All you need to do is answer this question...”

MC felt her cheeks flush, but nodded. Then she glanced up at the camera she’d known was there since Seven told her about them. _Can he see...?_

_What will he ask?_

“Will you let me in?”

_...What?_ MC blinked, her gaze heading towards the hallway. “S-seven, what—”

“Please?” He said again. “It’s cold out here.”

She jumped from the couch and walked down the hall. MC pouted at her phone as she reached out to open the door.

“I swear, Luciel, if this is another prank...”

“Me? Prank _you_? MC, I am _appalled_ —”

MC froze when she opened the door and saw Seven standing there, just like he said he was. He grinned down at her with something soft and warm, his phone still near his ear.

“I didn’t realize you thought so little of me,” he said into his phone one last time before putting it in his pocket.

“W-what – why,” MC shook her head and stared up at him. “Seven, I thought you were working on something for Jumin.”

Seven shrugged. “I got bored.”

“And just, just – decided to visit me?”

“...Am I not allowed?”

“NO.” MC flushed and lowered her voice, “Th-that’s not it. I just...I don’t understand.”

Seven smiled wider, though it looked more crooked than usual. Then he adjusted his glasses, making them glint in the moonlight. Like he was carrying a secret. 

“Ah, but that is the beauty of being such a man of mystery,” he said, lifting a definitive index finger. “I am not obligated to explain my motives!”

Leaning one shoulder on her doorway, MC crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh yeah, real trustworthy.”

“But of course!” Seven chuckled, then leaned forward. “So...can I come in?”

MC smirked, then hummed in thought, tapping on her chin. “I don’t know...”

“I’ve got Honey Buddha chips,” Seven offered, lifting his backpack.

“I’ve already got plenty of that.”

“I have movies.”

“I have Netflix.”

“Ooh, tricky,” he said with a wide grin. “But you know what Netflix doesn’t have?”

MC raised an eyebrow, expectant. Seven chuckled again and reached inside his bag, pulling out—

She gasped, her entire expression lighting up. “Is that...?”

“HBO’s _Westworld_ , Blueray Edition?” Seven looked at the DVD for a moment, as if also confused, and then he nodded solemn confirmation. “Why yes, yes it is.”

“B-but that hasn’t—” MC floundered, her hands reaching forward, going loose and then clenching. “H-h-how...?”

“I know a nerd who knows another nerd, who knows a guy who works as an editor for HBO.” Seven shrugged, despite his smug grin. “All the cast and crew got a pre-release copy of the series, along with a special edition of the original film, as an early Christmas present—Merry Christmas, by the way.”

MC stared up at him with wide eyes, and said slowly, almost under her breath, “But you _hate_ Christmas.”

Seven just shrugged again, but his warm gaze was so tender it made MC’s heart ache. In that moment, whether it was fatigue or leftover feelings, she wanted to grab his collar and kiss him senseless.

Instead, MC beamed and stepped to the side, bowing at the waist. “Then please come in, God Seven. Come in, and I shall regale you with this dark little Western tale...”

* * *

“...Okay, just so I have this straight,” Seven said near the first few minutes of the movie (because MC couldn’t just have him watch _Westworld_ without knowing _West World_ ), his expression flat. “This is the future.” 

Leaning her cheek against his arm, her eyes glued to the screen, MC nodded. “Yep.”

“And in the future, there are amusement parks that recreate various time periods and cultures—including Ancient Rome and Medieval Europe, correct?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And with a modest payment of $1,000 a day, you can spend your leisure at these parks, doing whatever your deviant heart desires.”

“Yup yup yup.”

“And, frosting on the cake, these amusement parks are populated by robots that look and act _insanely_ real, especially if they’re being hurt.”

“ _Da_.”

Seven shifted his flat look to MC, raising an eyebrow. “And the people in this movie are shocked that something goes wrong...?”

Rather than face him with a pout, or even an attempted glare, she just smacked his arm with a smile. “Just watch the movie, Luciel.”

“Sorry, it’s just a little...” He paused to stare at the next scene, which was introducing the Gunslinger, a la Yul Brynner ( _Whoever that is..._ ), and he frowned a little. “Strange.”

“It’s a Western 1970s film. It’s supposed to be strange.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t _Rocky Horror Picture_ strange—that’s a _fun_ strange, and I will forever be grateful to Tim Currie—this is like...beyond _Planet of the Apes_ strange.”

MC rolled her eyes, her mouth pursing. “ _Planet of the Apes_ is from the late ‘60s, _not_ the ‘70s.”

“Ah, yes, because there’s a difference.”

“Sshhh,” she hissed suddenly, beaming bright. MC wrapped her arms around his arm and snuggled close, making Seven be even more aware of her warmth, how her body could mold with his. He kept smiling, hoping the blush on his cheeks wasn’t too obvious.

“Shit’s about to go down?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

MC nodded furiously, her eyes gleaming, despite the dark circles in her eyes. Seven felt his heart clench, then pump back to life. Feeling bold, he freed his arm from her grasp and instead wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her close. MC smiled wider and nuzzled where his shoulder met his chest. Seven swallowed and focused back on the movie.

Hours later, not too long after the sun rose high and became bright, Seven blearily woke on his back. His head was resting on a pillow that had been propped on the couch’s arm. Right on top of him, sleeping deeply in his arms, was MC. Hands curled lightly into his t-shirt, warm snoring breath brushing his collarbones, drooling slightly against his t-shirt, short mussed hair tickling his chin _MC_.

Uncovered gold eyes popped open. Seven tipped his head forward as best as he could and blinked wide eyes. It didn’t change. MC was actually sleeping on top of him.

_Shit_. He swallowed hard and leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling. _Shit. Okay. Um._

Seven took one breath, exhaled, and repeated a few more times as his insides went haywire. Okay, this wasn’t so bad. In fact, this was almost normal. Don’t friends do this sort of thing all the time? Fall asleep together, snuggle together—wake up together? Of _course_. It didn’t mean anything. This situation was perfectly platonic. Nope nothing romantic at all.  The most platonic situation to hit the Friend Zone since that infamous SasuNaru kiss.

(Not that Seven was a huge believer of the Friend Zone, but you get the idea.)

So what if MC was on top of him?

(Her body perfectly molded against his own, making him feel every soft curve, her warmth—)

So _what_ if she was making sounds that he’d only dreamed of?

( _She snores! And it’s such a **cute** snore, along with those little sighs—_ )

So _what_ if her hair was as soft between his fingers as he’d—hold the phone.

Seven blinked and looked back at his hand, the hand that was currently tangled in MC’s hair, pausing in its stroking. The hair she just cut a couple weeks back. The hair that now perfectly framed her face with a maturity that just _did things_ to Seven, things he hadn’t asked for, things he couldn’t help feeling. The hair that he now learned did feel as good in his hands as he’d imagined, and _What the fuck, you moron, stop touching her_.

Just as he started removing his hand though, MC grabbed it and gently placed it back on her head.

“Don’t stop,” she said, her voice soft and almost keening. “I like it.”

_...Oh._

“Um, uh.” He cleared his throat, and asked, “H-how long have you been awake?”

“Enough to feel your heart race,” MC sighed and propped herself up on her forearms, staring down at him with lidded eyes and a tired smile. “What are you so afraid of?”

“Uh, I was, I was...” Seven blushed and shifted his eyes to the TV, seeing that it was still looping the _West World_ DVD menu. Then he turned back to her with a shaky smile. “The movie!”

MC blinked a beat, her expression going flat. She raised an eyebrow. “The movie?”

“Yep!”

“The movie that you called strange...”

“ _Because_ it disturbed me, ha-ha.” _Be cool, be cool._

(Fun fact: Seven had never been good at being cool, unless the situation had to do with hacking. Hacking was simple. Feelings never were.)

“...the movie you called the most ridiculous sci-fi work to ever be splashed on screens.”

Seven chuckled and shrugged, his cheeks still pink. “To be fair, the acting _was_ cheesy.”

MC smirked. “Oh, but it scared you, did it?”

_Crap._ He chuckled again, a strangled sound, and shifted his gaze away again. “Yeah, sure, why not. Gave me nightmares and everything.”

A snort jumped from MC’s throat before she could stop it, followed by a trail of giggles. Bending her knees and swinging her feet back and forth in the air, MC watched as Seven tried and failed to regain his composure. She took in the bright flush that lit up his face and flowed down to his neck, his cute but strained smile, how his eyes lit up with—

_Oh._ MC rubbed her eyes and looked again. Her heart thudded against her chest.

With shaky and warm hands, she cupped Seven’s neck and tilted his head up. Seven blinked and gaped up at her, still afraid but also curious.

MC licked her lips and leaned forward until she was a kiss away from him. She heard Seven gasp lightly, saw how his pupils dilated a little, and felt how warm his skin became under her touch. She drew in a shuddering breath. This had to be a dream. She still felt tired, after all. But damn, MC knew she’d regret it if she didn’t take this chance, or at least part of a chance.

“Your eyes,” she whispered. “They’re so pretty.”

Seven swallowed, drawing MC to glance briefly at his throat. “Y-yeah?”

“Yeah. Especially now. You should go without your glasses more often,” MC added, stroking one thumb down his cheek.

He tried to laugh. “Y-yeah, well. That’s a little hard—”

“I want to kiss you.”

Seven stared up at her, his eyes gleaming like molten gold. MC bit her lip, but couldn’t help but ask, practically beg:

“Can I kiss you? Please.”

.....

 

....

 

...

 

..

 

.

In an alternate universe, where everything in their lives was perfect and uncomplicated by past miscommunication issues and malevolent brainwashing cults, Seven would have said a very enthusiastic “FUCK YES,” and he and MC would finally, _finally_ kiss. And oh, what a kiss it would be. Sweet and passionate, hands cupping faces, hearts pounding and hell, maybe even some tongue action—it would have been _perfect_. The perfect catharsis after months of tension, mutual longing, secret (but definitely not subtle) ogling, and awkward but stalwart attempts at “friendship.” 

Seven wanted to do all of that, and possibly more. But he also remembered that it wasn’t the reason he’d come to MC in the first place.

And so, with a deep breath, he smiled. He cupped her cheeks, stroking the warm skin, and looked deep in her eyes.

“How about you ask me that when you get at least a few more hours of sleep,” he said instead.

MC pouted at first, but then broke out into a drawn out yawn that reminded Seven too much of a cat— _Damn it, it’s too early for this amount of cute_ —and then blinked back at him with lidded, bleary eyes.

“Okay,” she replied in a small voice. Then, with another look, “Will you stay with me?”

Seven smiled wider, not helping how his hand stroked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course.”

MC grinned and gently got off him. She gathered her quilt into a huge ball in her arms, and proceeded to walk back to her bedroom. Seven followed soon after.

Minutes later, as he lay beside MC in her huge and admittedly comfortable bed, Seven was starting to really question his life choices. Past career as a secret agent/hacker aside, he was starting to think he wasn’t the genius he’d thought he was. Most geniuses wouldn’t willingly step into the trap known as love, and many of them _definitely_ wouldn’t gamble their hearts (let alone dignities) by sliding into bed with the person they loved but weren’t in a relationship with. Seven was insanely smart, smart enough to calculate the situation he’d put himself in. The math was clear, this situation was a formula for disaster.

“Comfortable?” MC asked from her side, her body turned to face him.

Seven mustered a tiny smile. “Y-yeah.”

“Good.”

MC yawned one more time and slowly shut her eyes. Seven watched her another beat before allowing his own eyes closed—

“You haven’t asked.”

—Only to snap open. “What?”

MC was looking at him. “You haven’t asked if I’m okay.”

Seven pursed his lips and turned on his side to face her properly. “What would you say if I did?”

A familiar gleam came to her gaze, and tears beaded around her eyes, even as MC attempted a smile.

“That I’m not,” she said, like it was a breath of air after being underwater. “That I haven’t been okay for a while...”

MC bit her lip, prevented herself from saying anymore. Because if she talked, she wouldn’t stop, and she _really_ didn’t want to ruin this moment with her issues. But Seven only shifted closer to her and reached out a hand to brush his fingers with hers. He nodded patiently for her to continue, and MC nearly sobbed.

“And I’ve been trying so, _so_ hard. I hang out with friends. I go shopping. I drink tea now, rather than coffee, just to calm my nerves. I go to a therapist, I go to doctors just to see what I can do about _this_ ,” she paused, scowling for a moment as her hand brushes beneath her injured eye. “I even got this haircut, because—hey, new me and all that, right?”

Seven smiled. “It really suits you.”

“I know, and I like it very much. But it just...nothing has stopped the nightmares. Nothing has stopped me just _freaking_ out at random things—remember that meeting we had a few days ago? The one I walked out of?”

He nodded.

MC felt her lips tremble, shame welling up inside her. “Yoosung had been holding something—a pen, maybe—and he was just twirling it around. You know how bored he gets, how he fidgets...? And well, it just caught my attention and—”

_It was like I was back on the slab. And_ she _was getting ready to stab at me again._

She curled further into herself, her eyes clouded. “I-I just needed to get out of there.”

Seven finally laced his fingers with hers, and MC squeezed back. She took in a breath and finally let out what had truly been haunting her. The thing she’d hoped Seven would never have to hear.

“And then, there’s Saeran.”

He tensed a little at that, but wasn’t surprised. MC felt even worse.

“...I know it’s not his fault. That he’s been brainwashed. That he wasn’t the one who hurt me, in the end. And I want to forgive him when we find him, when you bring him back. But he was still _part_ of what happened to me. And I think... _I think_ ,” MC choked, tears rolling down her cheek.

_...there’s still a part that_ blames _him. And I hate it. I hate myself for even thinking it, because it’s not fair._

Because MC wasn’t supposed to be this way. She wasn’t supposed to be angry, let alone focus that anger on those who don't deserve it. She wasn’t supposed to be this miserable person. Everyone loved her for her cheerful nature, for her compassion. She wasn’t supposed to be this _mess_. This mess that was just a burden on others, that kept being a burden on others. _Just like last time..._

Seven pulled MC close to him, gently holding her close and leaning his chin on her shoulder. MC whimpered into his shoulder, her hands clawing into his shirt.

“I _hate_ this.”

“I know,” he said.

“I don’t want to feel this way.”

“I know.”

“I just want to be _me_ again,” MC cried. “But I don’t remember who that is...who that can become with all _this_.”

“And that’s okay.” Seven squeezed her in the embrace, turning to say in her ear, his voice soft, “Because we will be with you, no matter what. We will help you figure this out.”

_I love you_ , MC wanted to say in that moment. She wanted to kiss Seven on the neck and whisper it all the way up to his mouth.

Seven breathed in and nuzzled into her shoulder, his hand gently rubbing the back of her neck. _I love you, so much_ , he wanted to say, as if that would fix both of their problems.

Of course, again, this wasn’t the time or the place. But it could be a step in the right direction.


	5. Seduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which both MC and Seven are in need of hydration~

MC moaned against his mouth and kissed him with the hunger of someone starved, pulling on his lapel with one hand and tangling in his hair with the other. She raked her fingers through red hair and then curled them in the locks near the nape of his neck, nearly scratching his skin. As soon as Seven parted his mouth—the sound from his throat being a cross between a moan and a gasp—MC grasped at his face and slid her tongue inside his mouth, tasting a faint sweet-saltiness that could only come from Honey Buddha.

Again, she moaned and felt her heart flutter as Seven grasped at her hips, pulling her closer and returning her kiss. _God, this is better than I imagined..._

But she also knew that it could be better.

Parting slightly, MC smiled up at a flushed Seven, whose eyes were blown wide and mouth parted to breathe heavily, and quickly locked on a plush office chair behind Seven. Licking her mouth, MC leaned up to kiss Seven once more and languidly moved her hands up his back, curling on his shoulders. Then she stepped forward, gently pushing him towards the chair.

Seven gaped as he landed in the chair, as if his brain finally caught up, and MC immediately straddled his hips, curling her legs on either side of his thighs. Once she was practically grinding her hips against his, MC sighed and leaned forward—

“Wait, w-wait,” he nearly gasped, glancing frantically at the conference room door. “The lunch break is going to end soon...”

“Yeah, like, thirty minutes.” _Which is plenty of time for_ something _, really._

“MC,” Seven said, gritting his teeth. “Someone could walk in.”

“Not if the door is locked,” she said with a knowing smirk. (Perks to being an executive assistant: The keys to every room in the office. _Every_ room.)

Seven opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it, his gaze going sharp in thought. He looked once more at the door, then glanced at MC.

“...You locked the door?”

MC nodded, her grin wide and beaming.

Seven regarded MC with eyes that gleamed in a way that sent her heart racing. Suddenly the hands at her waist moved to the swell of her ass and MC felt her stomach swoop as Seven stood up from the chair. Gasping, she wrapped her legs around his hips and buried her face in one of his shoulders.

“S-Seven, what—ah!” MC let out a cry as a hand curled into the roots of her hair, a feeling that was very much _not_ unpleasant, and tugged her to face him. Seven was frowning, but there was something in his hot gaze that was a mix of calculated and playful. Blushing madly, MC stared back.

“All this time later, and you’re still such a _tease_ ,” he said, his voice deep and dark, like something forbidden.

MC felt her breath waver, but only swallowed. “Maybe I am,” she said, not helping the insolence. “What are you going to do about it?”

Seven regarded her a moment, and then his mouth curled into a smirk. Then he pulled MC to his mouth, the rough clash of lips drawing a moan from her. It didn't have the grace that MC had attempted before, but as she slid her tongue against Seven’s, she felt her insides melt. Raking her fingers through his hair, MC tightened her legs around Seven and pressed her hips to him.

Seven groaned but kept his eyes open. He tightened his grip and stepped forward, gently laying MC onto the long table.

( _Oh. My. God. Yes yes yes,_ **_finally_ ** )

MC felt her toes curl, a hot thrill shivering through her like electricity. She kissed at Seven’s mouth a few more times and then moved her kisses to his chin…

“--Mmm!” MC moaned as Seven tugged her head back, his fingers still in her hair. With her neck arched and bared, she stared up at him with lidded eyes.

 _...Well, shit_ , she thought, feeling her scalp tingle in a way that heated her blood. _Learn something new everyday, huh?_

Breathing heavily, Seven pinned her with a lidded look, sharp, hot, and tinged with a need that was only clearer without lenses. He lifted his free hand and quickly loosened his tie. As his tie split to allow his shirt collar to reveal some neck, he smirked again, his teeth gleaming. MC bit her bottom lip, her kiss swollen mouth spread into an eager smile.

“I think it’s time I went through with that punishment I promised you long ago,” Seven purred.

Then he leaned down, kissed her chin and moved down towards her neck. MC gasped when she felt Seven mouth at a spot near her ear, where her heart pulsed _hot_ , and then _Oh my god,_ **_teeth_ ** _, fuck!_

MC whimpered and raked her nails down Seven’s shoulders, arching her neck more into that mouth--

* * *

“...MC?”

“...”

“Babe?”

“...”

“Pumpkin?”

“...”

“...Sweetheart?”

“...”

MC kept smiling ahead, a rosy cheek leaning on her right hand. Under different circumstances, Zen would be happy to see such a look...if it was directed at him, of course.Her eyes were lidded behind red rimmed glasses, focused on something over his shoulder. Zen had a feeling what, or better _who_.

Even so, he turned around and saw Seven walking into the cafe, searching around. He was wearing a suit and tie, along with a dark suit jacket that brought out the solid in his shoulder line, even the tone of his arms. Nothing really different from his usual look for a meeting in front of the C&R Board, except--

 _Oh._ Zen blinked at the sight of gold eyes, sharp as ever, but uncovered by glasses. Then, with a slight smile, he nodded in appraisal. _Not bad, Luciel._

When he turned back to MC, saw how she was chewing her bottom lip and how blown wide her pupils were, Zen felt his smile widen.

_Well, now._

“Mi-Cha Joon,” he said, finally.

“Hmm?” MC blinked out of whatever daydream that had clouded her mind and finally looked at Zen, her cheeks still flushed. Then her eyes widened.

“D-damn, sorry Zen! I wasn't… I got distracted.” She finished, glancing to the side.

Zen restrained a snort, smirked instead. ( _Sweetie, who you foolin’?_ )

“Yeah, I noticed,” he said, as he leaned his chin on a hand. “But whatever could you be thinking about?”

MC swallowed, her wide eyed gaze again drawn to a spot behind Zen.

Zen smirked wider and asked in a lower voice, leaning forward, “Or _who_ …?”

She threw a look at him, her mouth drawn into a pout. Zen only raised an eyebrow.

Then he was hugged from behind.

“Roomie!” Seven beamed, nuzzling Zen’s hair. “You have finally returned to me, from the war!”

Zen twitched and tried to lean away from the embrace. “For the last time, I did not go to war…”

“But you still left me all alone!” Seven sniffled, choking. “I was so lonely…”

MC giggled into her hand. Zen glanced at her and got an idea.

“Aw, c’mon,” he said to Seven. “You couldn't have been so lonely, not with our lovely MC here.”

Seven finally looked over at MC and flushed. Not because he forgot she was there, but because this was the second time she saw him without...

MC smiled. “Hi Seven.”

“H-hey,” he said, suddenly sheepish.

“How was the meeting?”

“A lot longer than necessary.” He rolled his eyes and slid into the chair next to her. Then he glanced between her and Zen, cringing slightly. “Sorry if I was late…”

Zen waved it off with a smile. “Don't worry about it. We were just discussing what we should order. For example…”

He raised an eyebrow again, sly red eyes locking onto MC’s narrowed brown.

( _Ho, don't do it_.)

( _I'm gon’ do it._ )

“MC here is wondering if she should order her usual iced café latte with extra whipped cream,” Zen continued, his grin pure evil, “or a large glass of iced water.”

MC gaped, mouth wide open, both her eyebrows raising. _You_ **_bitch_ ** _._

 _I’m such a bitch_ , Zen preened, nearly snorting.

Meanwhile, Seven looked between them with a frown. _What's with these two…?_

Hopefully, it wasn't serious.

* * *

 

Now, no lie, MC had made some pretty stupid decisions in her life. However, it would be a mistake to assume that she was stupid. Case in point:

A familiar tingle prickled the back of her neck as she drank from her morning iced coffee, with whipped cream. MC made a show of leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes in bliss. She made sure to arch her neck just a little, enough to look subtle. As she licked drops of coffee and cream from her lips, MC opened her eyes a bit and glanced to the side.

Seven immediately blushed and turned away, going back to conversing with Yoosung. His voice wavered, but he managed to keep up with the discussion on LOLOL and their next run. MC giggled to herself, her free hand curled near her mouth.

She snuck a look at the back of Seven’s head and let her eyes linger on his person, her gaze warm. Today, Seven had decided to dress comfortably for once, now wearing a pair of jeans and a thin red/black hoodie, with the sleeves scrunched up to reveal his forearms. He was wearing his glasses today, but that didn’t stop MC from her (not)subtle ogling.

MC kicked her feet back and forth beneath her desk, her mind wandering. She wondered what it would take for Seven to crack and stop hiding from her. She wondered how far she could go before going up to him and dragging him into the nearest closet.

She wondered what Seven would answer if she once again asked--

_“Can I kiss you? Please.”_

\--and what would happen.

Seven twitched as Yoosung said something, and his hand immediately rubbed the back of his neck. He inclined his head, moved to look back.

MC dipped her finger through the domed plastic of her cup, scooping up a glop of whipped cream. As Seven turned to look straight at her, his eyes wide but curious, MC met his gaze with her own. She moved her finger to her mouth and sucked on it lightly, her tongue licking up all the cream. Seven watched her, his pupils blown and his mouth slightly parted.

But as MC removed her finger with a faint “pop”, Seven didn’t waver his stare. His mouth closed, becoming a firm line. His eyes narrowed, gold becoming _molten_ ; almost angry. But MC knew, just from noting the slight twitch of his hands--the restrained urge to touch, or maybe _more_ \--that look was anything but anger.

It was small. The sort of thing she'd almost stopped hoping for, after everything that happened between them. The sort of thing that MC had worried she no longer deserved. But still, it was enough to take a chance, once again.

Hopefully, this time, she wouldn’t be alone.

MC leaned back in her seat once more, quirking an eyebrow.

 _Your move_ , she mouthed.

Seven almost faltered, his cheeks flushing. 

But then he clenched one hand into a fist but returned her look with gleaming gold. MC grinned around her straw.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, a short thingies into MC's mind and her own desires. Did it all on my phone so that's why it's short...might add more when I get to my laptop again.
> 
> Also: Will be upping the rating soon, because _sin_


	6. How Seven Got his Groove Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yoosung is done, MC realizes she needs to learn to communicate too, and Seven—
> 
> Oh...?
> 
>  
> 
> _Oh~_

“MC wants to kill me.”

Yoosung barely looked up from his phone. “No kidding?”

“That’s gotta be it,” Seven was saying, raking his hand through his hair. “She finally decided to murder me, as some—some sort of revenge?”

He glanced up to give his friend a look, his gaze flat and just _done_. “Revenge.”

“ _I don’t know_!” Seven nearly screamed. “Why else would she be all...all…?”

He thought of how MC had been acting all week. How _friendly_ she’d been, how her hands seemed to linger on him sometimes—whether on his shoulders or his hands, or his _neck even_ —how she always seemed to “drop” things around him and just bend down, making her clothing just stretch across her legs and her ass, and just giving Seven a general heart attack.

Then there was that shit with the whipped cream, just a couple hours ago. How MC just locked her smokey eyes to  him and licked the cream from her straw with _that pretty mouth_ , and just—

( _Your move._ )

—Like, _really_? What did that even mean?

Yoosung watched as Seven’s brain seemed to implode, his eyes wide and his cheeks flushed. He leaned his cheek on one hand, while lightly tapping his phone against the table with his free hand. Then, he sighed.

“...Seven, buddy, friendo, bro, dude, lovable bane of my existence,” Yoosung said, raising an eyebrow, “You’re smart, right?”

Seven blinked. “I mean. Well. _Yeah_ , but—”

“So, has it ever crossed your mind that MC—oh, I dunno— _likes_ you?”

“...”

“You know, the sort of ‘like’ that isn’t between ‘just friends’?”

True to form, Seven snorted and laughed. He regarded Yoosung with a bitter sort of humor, grinning.

“Yeah, right, Yoosung. Like _that_ would ever happen…”

Yoosung stared in a way that made Seven think he grew another head. Then, he narrowed his purple eyes in thought. Then, those eyes went wide.

“Wait...MC actually hasn’t told you yet, has she?”

Seven once again blinked. “Um, told me what?”

Mouth gaping open, Yoosung stared at Seven. Then he dropped his face into his palm, tipped his head towards the cafeteria ceiling, and let out a groan that was loud enough for everyone else to stare. Seven watched him, bemused.

When Yoosung finally stood up and glared at him, Seven nearly jumped. (Seriously, what happened to the RFA’s cinnamon roll/707!stooge?)

“Don’t ever say I never did anything for you,” he hissed, poking an index finger into Seven’s chest.

_...What._

“Seriously, I better get, like, an epic speech at the wedding for all the shit I’ve put up with. And help with my homework.”

“Um.”

“And godfather status for whatever little demon spawn you put in MC—”

Seven managed to sputter, blushing, “I-I, _what—_ ”

“—basically, I better be treated like a fucking _king_ for this!”

With wide eyes, Seven watched Yoosung stomp over to the elevator and go back up to his office. He blinked once, then twice, and tilted his head.

_What the hell…?_

* * *

 

MC was getting ready to leave her shift when Yoosung stomped over to her desk. She looked up at him, noted how wild and rather furious his eyes were, but still greeted him with a sweet smile.

“Hey Yoosung, what’s up?”

Yoosung took a couple deep breaths, and eased his expression.

“MC, I get what you’re doing, and I admire you for pursuing what you want and being all confident and sexy about it,” he said. “In fact, it was cute, at first. And funny to see Seven squirm, I will the first to admit it.”

She quirked an eyebrow.

“But now.” Yoosung paused, then sighed. “I have to ask:

“Does Seven know you have a thing for him?”

MC smiled and opened her mouth to respond—and then promptly shut it. She blinked in thought, and her eyes widened.

“Oh, fuck.”

“That’s what I thought,” Yoosung said, voice flat.

“ _Fuck_ , I forgot to tell him!” She realized, near pulling her hair.

“Yeah, maybe you should do that? _Before_ you go through with this whole seduction thing or whatever?”

“I have to go, I have to talk to him, and.” MC stood up from her desk and gave Yoosung a sheepish smile. “Thanks, Yoosung.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved it off, despite the smile growing on his face.

“No, seriously, I really owe you one!”

 _No, he does_ , he thought as he watched MC grab her jacket and clutch, and run out of the office. Sighing, Yoosung slumped into his own seat and tipped his head back, eyes closed.

Jaehee watched him, her smile amused. She leaned towards his cubicle with wry amber eyes.

“Bar tonight?”

Yoosung whipped his head up. “Yes, _please_.”

* * *

_...Maybe there’s something in the water_ , Seven was wondering as he leaned back against the elevator, waiting for it to go down to his level. _Or maybe Yoosung finally got laid?_  

He paused on that thought, and then snickered. _Yeah, right. That’ll be as likely as—_

“Wait, hold that elevator!”

Without thinking, he reached out and blocked the doors from closing. He waited until the person stepped in and lowered his arm.

“Thanks, I—Seven?”

_…Damn it all._

“H-hey MC,” he greeted with a shaky grin.

MC beamed, then reached out to grasp Seven by the wrists. “Great! I was just coming to see you.”

“Y-you were?”

“Yes, because I,” MC faltered as Seven’s eyes pierced into her, her cheeks going red and heart racing. “I, I, I um—”

 _Don’t you dare choke now_ , she scolded herself. MC closed her eyes and breathed in, out; and then she smiled up at him.

“Are you doing anything after work?”

Seven parted his mouth, feeling his heart stop, then jump start so fast, his lungs could barely keep up.

“Wha-what?”

“There’s, uh, this new restaurant not too far from here,” MC continued, stroking her thumbs gently into Seven’s wrist, feeling his pulse thrum. “All you can eat for $15.”

Seven blinked wide eyes, silent and blank. MC swallowed, but widened her smile. No turning back now.

“A-and I was hoping to give it a try with you and—”

“Yes!”

MC blinked up at Seven, who was blushing and gaping—as if in shock of his own voice, especially with the way he’d near shouted.

“I-I mean, yeah, sure,” he said, before pausing to clear his throat. Seven smiled, trying to at least look composed. “I just need to get my jacket and headphones.”

Grinning radiantly, MC nearly bounced in place, her hands now curled near her face. “Great!”

Seven rubbed the back of his neck. “S-so, I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten?”

Now she was bouncing, MC knew, but she couldn’t stop the energy fluttering within her.

“Definitely!”

“Great!” **_And_** _now I’m doing it_ , Seven thought despite grinning just as wide.

And so, for at least another few floors upward, these two dorks were left grinning at each other. You know the kind. Cheeks blushing all cute and pink, eyes glimmering, and shy little foot shuffles. Like they were in their own little world—which was partially true, considering they were the only ones in the elevator. A tiny elevator. A tiny elevator that had a steady wall that would be perfect to pin someone to as the two of you kissed—

Oh.

_Oh._

Seven cleared his throat and stepped back, just as MC giggled nervously and took a step from him.

“S-sorry about that,” she said.

“No, no, I was...it just got a little hot,” he said.

Again, MC giggled, even as her mind screamed. She shifted her gaze to the side, curling one finger in her short hair. “Y-yeah, I know what you mean…”

“Seriously, someone should really do something about the heat in this building,” Seven chuckled, because hey, when all else fails, humor was the best to fall back on. “It’s starting to become a problem.”

“I know, right!” MC agreed, because well, _same_. “I mean, there’s only so much water we drink in a day.”

“And as a leading expert on the good doctor, Ph.D Pepper is not the best to have while dehydrated,” he said, with a wry smile.

“Well, I should think so. It’s pure sugar!”

“Hey, Ph.D Pepper has saved me more than water has ever done.”

MC quirked an eyebrow and smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yeah, but the result is you ending up thirsty.”

Despite himself, Seven found himself smirking, and snorted out a laugh.

“Excuse _you_ , Miss, but didn’t you just imply your own thirst?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, God Seven, sir.” MC flicked at her hair, upturning her nose, despite her blush. “I only implied that there’s only so much water to drink in a workday.”

“ _Really_? And how would you know unless you’ve experienced it yourself?”

MC blinked and stared up at Seven— _Wait, when did he get so close?!_ —and felt her throat go dry. His eyes were piercing, narrowed just the slightest to be sly, and his mouth was curled into a smirk that MC wanted to smack and kiss at the same time.

“W-well, I mean.” She huffed and stood up straight, trying to be taller than she actually was. “I dunno, maybe I need hydration too—”

( _Wait, no, that wasn’t what I wanted to say aaaaaah—_ )

Seven couldn’t seem to help it, he burst out laughing. It made his shoulders tremble and his expression light up in a way MC hadn’t seen in a long, _long_ while. Suddenly, she found herself smiling, a dreamlike warmth flowing through her. She was so entranced, in fact, that she almost missed it.

“Damn, MC, you’re still so _cute_ —!”

Seven froze, his hand hovered over his mouth. That was not supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to say that. Not because it wasn’t true, but it crossed a line. A solid line that he’d made sure to draw between him and MC long ago, especially after Mint Eye. A line that wasn’t supposed to be crossed, not again. Actually, this whole moment crossed that line.

_...What the hell is with me today?_

He looked at MC, prepared to apologize for going too far, but then paused. MC was looking up at Seven, but not with anger, or disgust. Her eyes were wide and soft, and warm, and, and—

 _Wait._ His eyes narrowed. _Did she...could she…?_

But then the elevator dinged, an automatic voice announcing that it’d finally ended up on Seven’s floor. Seven couldn’t help the slight glare he shot the doors as they slid open.

“O-oh, it’s your floor,” MC said, her voice strained.

“How convenient,” Seven muttered under his breath.

“Yeah…”

Sighing and placing hands in his hoodie, he walked out of the elevator.

“I-I’ll see you downstairs!”

Seven froze once again, his heart clenching. He slowly turned to face MC again.

MC stood near the back of the elevator, wearing a huge pink sweater over a beige camisole and a pair of black leggings, nothing really special. Her still short hair was slightly frizzy, but still framed her face perfectly, curling around her chin. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were still gleaming with that _look_ , and MC was smiling like he was special, like she, like she…

( _Your move._ )

Before the doors could slide closed again, Seven nearly slammed his forearm against one. His glasses were gleaming, hiding his eyes, but MC felt the burn of his stare. She swallowed, clenching her hands in front of her stomach. _Did...did I do something wrong…?_

He paused in the door, enough for a thought, then Seven picked up his head to reveal his hard, resolute gaze.

“Fuck it.”

She blinked. “Huh…?”

Then Seven stepped back onto the elevator, allowing the doors to close, and hit the button all the way down to the lobby, at least twelve floors down. Just to leave enough time. He threw another look at MC and stepped towards her, his gaze unwavering.

MC swallowed with wide eyes, her heart leaping. _Holy shit._

 _No more running_ , Seven kept thinking, even as his stomach clenched with an old anxiety. _No more hiding._

And before either realized it, MC’s back was against the wall and Seven was leaning his right forearm against a spot above her head, his gaze boring into hers. His eyes were dark and warm, like amber. MC felt her heart melting, felt her breathing become shallow, and her hands twitched to touch Seven, to see if this was real.

“Can I kiss you?” Seven asked, his voice thick. “Please.”

MC nodded, shaky and feeling a little desperate, but wanting too much to care. As he leaned down, she reached up to cup his face, stood on her tip-toes, and met his mouth with hers. Seven moaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around MC’s waist, just as her hands moved to the back of his neck.

It wasn’t anything Hollywood, or even literary. Her mouth was slightly chapped because of the winter chill, and MC always kept forgetting to put on lip balm, and Seven tasted too sweet from his favorite soda. The rims of their glasses were clashing a little, especially as they tilted their heads and deepened the kiss. And honestly, it was suddenly becoming too, _too_ hot.

There was still a lot to worry about, still a lot they’d have to talk about. No guarantees that anything would be perfect from here on out.

“Luciel, I like you,” MC gasped when they parted to breathe. With lidded eyes and her hands moving to curl around his shoulders, she spoke, “I like you, and I want you.”

Seven grinned, laughed breathlessly against her mouth. Then, he kissed MC again and again, pulling her close.

“Me too,” he kept whispering. “Always did.”

But damn it, they were going to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL, what is structure and plot, really?
> 
> This chapter kinda got away with me. It had a different ending in my head, but apparently MC and Seven's thirst got the best of them.
> 
> Next up: These two dorks finally talk like adults, and then DATING GAME START.


	7. The Talk (Finally)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...Did I say that these two dorks will finally talk like adults?
> 
> HAHA. That's funny. I made a funny.
> 
> i.e. MC and Seven talk. And are sickeningly cute. And the sexual tension is still unresolved (for now, hon hon hon~), but the romance is _on_ like Donkey Kong.
> 
> Also: Surprise appearance from Jumin!  
> In flashback form.  
> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact: I'm getting a new job come next Monday. This job is full time, with benefits, good money, and it's in my field, which is Adult Education and Literacy. This is basically why I've been updating this fic like whoa, because I've spent these past few weeks prepping for this job and chilling at home.
> 
> Come next week, updates might become sporadic for a while, but this will continue. I don't know how it will end, or if I should end it now and dedicate a second part to MC&Seven's dating adventures (with smut!), but this will go on. Just like Celine Dion.

* * *

MC tilted her head back and moaned as she chewed noisily. Once she swallowed, she sent a ravenous look to her plate of kimchi bokkeumbap. She gently stabbed her spoon into the medium fried egg atop the dish and mixed the yolk into the fried rice. Once she felt it was properly saturated, MC licked her bottom lip and scooped up more rice and pieces of kimchi to go into her mouth. Once again, she let out a soft moan, her eyes closing in bliss.

Seated next to her in the booth, his plate of bulgogi and tofu relatively untouched, Seven watched her with lidded eyes and a soft smile, his chin leaned against his palm. MC swallowed once more and smiled back at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but then—

 _“—urp!_ ”

Blushing a hot pink, she slapped her hand to her mouth.

Seven snickered. “Well, _someone’s_ rediscovered her appetite.”

Shrugging, MC lowered her hand to reveal a bashful smile.

“Sorry about that,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head. “It’s just...so good.”

“Oh no, don’t apologize! I think it’s cute.” He added, with a sly smirk. “Even if it does make you a pig.”

MC reddened, her cheeks puffing out as she glared at him. With a little growl, she slammed her fists to the table.

“Excuse _you_ , I am not a pig,” she said. “I’m a fucking lady!”

“With _that_ language? I don’t know…”

 _Oh, this son of a—hmm._ MC smirked, her eyes glinting. She upturned her nose, flicking her hair.

“I’m pretty sure I showed you how much of a lady I am back in that elevator.”

Seven smirked wider, and slid closer so he could lean in close enough to whisper.

“MC, we are in public,” he teased.

She reached out to gently stroke Seven’s neck, her eyes lidded. “That didn’t stop _you_.”

“No, you’re right.” Seven felt his left eyebrow twitch. “ _He_ did.”

* * *

“—ah!” MC gasped away from his mouth, her eyes snapping open then closed. Seven stared down at her, his heart lurching a moment, and then he smirked. He leaned down to brush his lips against a spot near her ear. 

“What’s wrong, MC?” He whispered.

“N-nothing!” MC squeaked, digging her enails slightly into his back. “I-I just…”

It was all becoming too much, especially with how _close_ Seven was, close enough that he’d shifted his thigh between hers. That she could feel the material of his jeans nearly grinding against her—

“Mmmm!” She bit her lip, whimpering as Seven rubbed his leg into her heated sex, the rough denim bleeding through her too thin leggings. Her eyes slid open, lidded and gleaming, and she dug her nails into his shoulders. If he kept those movements up, she considered with a little moan, _I won’t be able to, I can’t—_

Seven felt his mouth water at the sound, felt it go straight to his cock, and mouthed harder into her neck.

“Do you like that? When I do this,” he whispered into her skin, grinding his leg harder into her. MC moaned again, the sound a pitch higher, and arched into the touch. Seven smirked. “You’re so _warm_ here, MC...are you really that sensitive?”

 _Oh, you fucker._ MC turned her head to moan into his neck, “You are _evil_ , Luciel.”

Seven chuckled. He hooked one hand behind MC’s right knee and hoisted the leg around his hips. He lifted his head to see MC pouting up at him, and leaned down.

“I never claimed to be nice,” he rasped before kissing her once more.

MC growled into his mouth— _You incredible ass, I fucking swear—_ and gripped his collar, hungrily thrusting her tongue against the seam of Seven’s lips, and...

“...Not that I’m not happy for you two, because I am,” a familiar voice droned. “But there are special hotels for this sort of thing.”

 _Really?!_ MC simmered, hearing a record screech in her brain. _Fucking really? UGH._

Meanwhile, Seven slammed his palms against the wall behind her and clawed his nails down, nearly tearing the wall apart. With lenses gleaming beneath his fringe, he shot a white hot glare at the person.

Jumin blinked at MC and Seven, who he saw were clearly displeased, but kept his expression flat.

( _Seriously, Luciel, Mi-Cha—where we work? At the company owned by my father? I mean, I’ll tolerate the occasional drink and slacking off in the office, but come on!_ )

“Seriously, I will call one of those hotels right now and book you two a room if you want,” he said, pulling out his phone. Then Jumin dared to smile, adding, “It’ll even be my treat.”

( _Please, no sexy shenanigans in my office._ )

* * *

A growl rumbled from Seven as he recalled the interruption, his right eyebrow twitching and his hands clenching.

MC giggled, then lifted a hand to gently run her fingers through his hair. “You’re _still_ mad.”

“Damn right,” he grumbled, unconsciously leaning into her hand. “We were getting to the really good part…”

She giggled again, removed her hand, and then leaned in to nuzzle Seven’s neck. Seven stiffened at the contact, felt her warm lips against his skin, and blushed.

MC closed her eyes and sighed, content. How long had she dreamt of being so close to Seven? How long had she longed to have a kiss like they’d shared? To have him touch her the way— _Oh_.

Maybe Jumin had a point, even if he was a cockblocking ghoul.

“W-w-we needed to stop anyway,” she said, blushing.

Seven’s eyes went wide, and he perked his head up.

“W-wait, did I go too far—?”

“No, no, no—I mean, well, _yeah_. We both did.” Sending him a reassuring smile, MC added, “But not for anything bad.”

He blinked in a bemusement that MC found herself adoring. She bit her lip, not helping her smile.

“It’s just...for what I wanted to happen next,” she said, looking up at Seven through long eyelashes. “I’d prefer it to be private.”

 _Oh._ Seven blinked once more, before turning as red as his hair. _Oh!_

 _His blushes are even cuter_ , MC thought with a little smirk. Then she gently poked his chest and slid down the seat to put some distance between them.

“But _that_ is going to have to wait,” she nearly purred.

“R-right!” He floundered. “B-b-because we’re on a date!”

_Wait._

“We...this is a date, right?”

MC nodded and crooned, “Yes, Seven.”

“A-and…?”

“Yes, you sweet idiot genius.” She gently grasped his face, stroking his cheeks as she looked straight into his eyes. “We are dating.”

Seven couldn’t help his wide grin. But then his expression dimmed, turning confused, and even a little sad.

“Wait, _why_?”

MC raised an eyebrow. “...Why are we dating?”

“No, no, I mean...W-why would you still like me?”

MC stared.

Seven shifted his gaze and turned his face to brush his lips against her left palm. “After what I did...what I s-said? And...and…”

He glanced at MC again, his eyes clouded with a dark memory: of blood, _so much_ , Saeran disappearing, and rushing MC to the nearest hospital, the sound of that dreaded flatline—

“Mmmph!”

Seven was brought back to MC claiming his lips with hers, her eyes closed, and her passion hot, almost angry. Despite the tears pricking his eyes, he slid them closed and melted into the kiss. MC nipped at his bottom lip and parted from him, her gaze firm.

“First rule of us dating,” she said to Seven, reaching one finger to wipe away a tear that was starting to roll down his cheek. “No more of that.”

He blinked. “‘Th-that’?”

MC put a finger to his lips, smiling gently. “No more of the self-blame, or guilt, or any ugly feeling having to do with the past. We can reflect on the past, but only to learn from it. No more worrying about any mistakes _we both_ made, or whether we deserve each other or not—because that’s not what a relationship is about.

“Luciel, when I say ‘I like you’, never worry about why. I just do.” She paused, flushing, “I mean, okay, I’ll probably be a little more eloquent about it later, but just know now, I just do. And I won’t worry about why you feel how you feel for me. Okay?”

After a pause, Seven placed trembling hands on MC’s wrists, her hands having shifted to cup the nape of his neck. He stroked one wrist with his thumb, feeling MC’s warmth and life flow through her. It was something so simple, yet complicated, but it was enough for him to draw some strength. Not enough to block out his doubts, his insecurities, and definitely not his mental health issues—but it was just enough for Seven to remember that he wanted to give this a shot. With a small smile, he nodded.

“Good! Now, the next rule,” MC said. “We can’t ever isolate ourselves when it comes to serious problems, because—well, let’s be honest, we have _a lot_ of problems. Cult related ones, in particular. I know that neither of us have heard from Mint Eye in a _while_. No unknown text messages, no creepy emails, and not even a letter. But I also know that this isn’t over, and won’t be over for a while.

“So, whatever comes with Mint Eye in the future, I propose that it will be something we face together. Because, as past experience has told us, isolating each other and facing problems alone has...disastrous results.”

MC paused to frown in thought, remembering her own scars (both physical and otherwise). Then she hardened her gaze and smiled up at Seven.

“But together, we can be unstoppable. When the time comes, we will not only be enough to save your brother, but also to kick ass doing so,” she said, her voice strong and full of conviction. “Because the longer this _thing_ between us is, and the more we work at it, it will be clear that we are not just a boyfriend and girlfriend. We are _partners_. And partners work as a team, no matter what comes our way. Got it?”

Seven felt his heart near explode, a smile slowly growing on his face. His hands twitched to pull her to him, to kiss her, to do _anything_ , but he held back. So, he nodded. “Yes.”

Beaming, MC removed her hands from his face and clapped her palms. “Awesome!”

 _God damn, I love you._ “You’re amazing, you know that?” He said instead, his voice a little strained.

MC blushed, but gently punched his shoulder. “You are too.”

Seven chuckled. “You keep talking like that, I’ll have to kiss you again.”

Her shoulders hunched as she bit her lip, shifting all coy and cute. Then, MC grinned.

“Speaking of, now that we’ve got the drama out of the way,” she said, lacing her fingers with his. “Now we can get to the fun stuff.”

Seven quirked an eyebrow, his smile gone sly. “Fun stuff.”

MC nodded and leaned forward, brushing her nose with his, “Yes, _fun_ stuff. Like dates, flirting, kissing, cuddling, staying over at each other’s place, playing video games, _teasing_ —”

“Sexy teasing?” He couldn’t help but ask, waggling his eyebrows.

“Oh _yeah._ ”

Seven squeezed MC’s hand, their fingers still laced, and lowered his own voice into a near purr, “I certainly hope this is leading to a sex talk.”

MC felt something hot and wet lick at her insides, and she squeezed back. She closed the distance to peck at Seven’s lips once, then twice, and by the third, she found it hard to stop.

“You need to learn patience, God Seven,” she murmured between kisses.

“Me?” Seven groaned into one kiss before gathering his wits and parting from it, directing narrow eyes to MC. “You used to squirm at the sound of my voice, over the phone.”

MC pouted. “You once threatened to _bite_ me as punishment!”

Seven narrowed his eyes further. “You once dropped your towel after getting out of the bath. In the hallway. Right in front of the camera. Knowing that _I was watching_!”

She opened her mouth to retort, then paused, blinking. Then her mouth curled into a smirk, her gaze lidded and smoldering. “So you _were_ peeking?”

 _Oh. Oh, no._ “UM.”

“That’s so naughty, God Seven~” MC leaned away from him, placing the back of her hand against her forehead, a mock swoon. “I knew it, my God is a perv. Oh, whatever is an innocent disciple like me to do under such deviancy?”

 ** _Fuck_** _me_. Seven felt his blood scream in his ears. _How do I keep digging myself into these holes…?_

“I-I, that was, n-no, I mean,” he sputtered, then directed an accusing finger at MC. “You teased me first!”

MC mimicked his gesture. “No, _you_ teased _me_ first!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“So _not_!”

“So _too_!”

“Evening, you two! You still working on these plates or…?”

Seven and MC froze in their dispute and directed wide eyed stares at the much older, but petite waitress, who was smiling in a way that looked _too_ amused.

“Sorry, did I interrupt anything?” She said, quirking an eyebrow.

Both turned bright red, remembering that— _Oh yeah, we’re still in public. Um, oopsie?_ —and turned to give each other a look.

“Um,” MC burst into giggles, then covered her wide grin with a hand. Seven snorted and shook his head, his gaze soft.

“Actually, could we get this wrapped up, please?” He asked with a grin. “And our check too?”

“No problem! Be right back.”

Seven watched as the waitress joined a co-worker, and the two women giggled as they walked towards the back of the restaurant. He shook his head, then started pulling out his wallet from his jeans, when MC put a hand to stop him.

“H-hey, I’m the one who asked you out,” she said, puffing her cheeks. “I’m the one who should pay.”

He shook his head. “Nah, I owe you anyway.” _For more than you know_ , Seven added with a tender smile.

MC pouted harder and crossed her arms, looking away. Seven immediately wrapped his arms around her in an embrace, his heart melting.

“Aw MC, I can’t take it when you’re so cute~”

She grumbled into his shoulder. “I’m _not_ cute…”

“Yes, you are.” He nuzzled her head, closing his eyes. “But if it really bothers you, you can pay next time.”

MC blinked and then smiled, returning the hug. She closed her eyes, her cheek nestled over Seven’s heartbeat, and sighed with content.


	8. Little Moments (I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Seven and MC's life, now that they've gotten over themselves.   
> God, these two make me sick ;P

**1\. Office Shenanigans**

Seven groaned and dropped his head down on his desk. Then, for good measure, he slammed his forehead against the surface once more. Once he was certain his brain had come back to life, he turned his head to shoot a glare at all the files on his desk. All the files that had private records of doctors, nurses, teachers, and any other person that needed credentials to be involved in the hell that was C&R. All the files that needed to be input into the newest database for the company -- the one he designed, by the way -- to help make the company paperless.

He just wished the task hadn’t fallen to him and his team.

_ Data entry _ , Seven scowled as he sat back up, leaning back against this chair.  _ More torturous than waterboarding, with ten times the headache. _

Seriously, what was he? A fucking intern?

_ Speaking of _ , he thought with a suspicious narrow of his eyes.  _ What the hell is Yoosung doing right now that he isn’t doing this…? _

\--

Yoosung stared ahead with dull purple eyes as Elizabeth 3rd started climbing into his lap, clawing at him and stretching luxuriously. Like he was only another scratching post to her. 

Now, Yoosung liked cats, and animals in general. He recently adopted a kitten Jumin had found in his backyard, and he adored her. However, there was a grave difference between an innocent, if needy kitten and a smug adult cat. A smug adult cat that was currently lying on her back and swatting her paw at his chin, coyly mewling for attention. Or food. Or anything, really.

He let out a sigh and scratched at Elizabeth 3rd’s ears, rolling his eyes to the ceiling as she purred.

_ How did this become my life? _

\--

Seven sighed and shook his head. Regardless of whatever was happening with Yoosung, it didn’t matter. This still wasn’t going to get done if he just sat here and complained to himself. So, he leaned forward and proceeded to key in the next file.

Considering that data entry was the most droning office activity in existence, it was easy for Seven to lose track of time. Easy for him to forget that  _ Oh yeah, my shift ends at five like a normal person now--how ‘bout that _ . Easy for him to not notice his staff sneaking out of the office once five o’clock rolled around. Easy for his brain to focus in on what was on his computer, and not so much on who was walking up behind him. 

But then he felt a familiar pair of hands lightly touching his tense shoulders. Seven felt the familiar longing, now tinged with something bubbly and warm, rather than sad and empty. He smiled as a pair of warm lips brushed his nape.

“You look stressed,” she murmured.

Seven leaned into the touch, and admitted in a near whisper, “I  _ am  _ stressed.”

Her mouth curled into an impish smile against his skin. She kissed a gentle, but blazing trail to the shell of his ear and Seven swallowed.

“You wanna know the best part of dating,” MC said. “And being stressed?”

“What?”

Her hands wandered from his shoulders to the back of his neck, her fingers leaving a trail of heat. As she began massaging right near where Seven was aching, MC leaned her chin on one of his shoulders.

“All the  _ fun  _ ways you can take it out on me.”

He shrugged her off and turned around to look up at MC, his eyebrow quirked, despite the heat in his eyes.

“Is that an offer?”

MC smiled sweetly, her eyes glittering. “Could be.”

Seven laughed, low and a little strained. “That’s a dangerous thing to offer, MC.”

Blushing lightly, MC leaned down to brush her lips against his. The kiss was soft and warm, with just enough pressure for Seven to long for more. MC then cupped her hands around his jaw, tilted his head up further, and parted her mouth to deepen the kiss. Seven groaned a little into the kiss and reached out to rest his hands at her waist, his touch burning through her short sleeve, wool poncho. 

When they parted to breathe, MC locked eyes with Seven with a languid smile. Seven let out a trembling breath, his own smile a little too wide and his cheeks red. He was too eager, he knew; too eager for this  _ thing  _ that just (re)started between them. But he’d long found it difficult to restrain himself around her.

“I’m not afraid if you aren’t,” she whispered, loosely wrapping her arms around his neck.

And for the second time in the last few weeks or so, Seven went  _ Fuck it _ .

( _ Because, really, work can wait. _ )

With something that was a cross between a gasp and a groan, he tilted his head up and kissed MC once more. As he slipped his tongue against her lips, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap. MC moaned and parted her mouth, bending her legs on either side of Seven’s hips and pressing herself close to him. Seven tilted his head to the side and ran one under her shirt, lightly scratching at her back, while his other hand squeezed around the swell of her hips. MC tangled one hand in his hair while one curled around his shoulder. 

Seven broke away from the kiss, his pupils blown wide. He dipped his head forward and shifted the cowl of MC’s sweater to reveal her neck. Licking his lips, he began nipping and suckling at the skin, soothing each mark with a kiss. MC whimpered at the sensation, her eyes still shut, and tilted her head to reveal more to him. Then, with a hot shot of daring, she began to grind her hips down on his hips. Seven groaned and thrust up into her, his hands now moving beneath her dress leggings and, a-and-- _ Oh _ .

His eyes shot wide open as Seven lifted his head to look up at MC, who stared back at him with bemused eyes.

“Y-you aren’t,” he couldn’t finish, could only squeeze the swell of her ass--the patch of skin lacking  _ something  _ that should be there. 

MC blinked, then chuckled in realization. Despite the red in her cheeks, she whispered hotly in his ear.

“They feel more comfortable without them.”

Seven was certain MC was going to kill him. Was going to one day light him up on fire, and leave him in an eternal burn, while smiling sweetly at him. And all he would be able to do is smile back, too eager and in love to suffer the flames.

He turned to groan into her neck, wrapping one arm around her her back, hooking a hand around a shoulder. Then with his other hand, he continued squeezing beneath MC’s leggings and thrusting his swelling cock up into her. MC moaned at the friction and thrust back into him, feeling her arousal--hot and slick--pooling between her thighs. 

It was moments like these that MC had grown to love most since she and Seven started dating. While they had agreed to take things slow, especially when it came to sex, they still agreed that intimate moments like this were okay. In fact, for MC at least, it was more than okay. Don’t get her wrong, MC loved all the cuddling, talking (on the phone or otherwise), and video games she and Seven often played, as well as the little dinner dates they went on when they could. But she had come to love the other stuff too, the stuff she and Seven would do that was probably not safe for work. She loved learning how to kiss Seven, what buttons she could push to make him break his composure. She loved how she and Seven shared laughter, even in between kisses. She loved being in his arms, and holding him in turn.

Moments like this often left MC tempted to tell Seven she loved him, and just how much; moments that led to her biting her lip and keeping the words in her throat.

( _ Not yet. _ )

She coaxed his head up so she could face him and leaned her forehead against his, mingling her ragged breath with his. As she pressed closer to him, rolled her hips to his just a little harder, MC watched him. Seven was groaning through clenched teeth, his eyes shut but his hips not stopping. She hoped he’d look like this when the moment came, when she’d drag him into her bed and-- 

“Fuck,  _ baby-- _ ”

MC paused, tilting her head with eyes that gleamed.  _...Oh? _

Seven froze at the same time, his eyes opening wide in a panic as he leaned back to stare up at MC. 

“Shit, I’m s-sorry! I didn’t mean...I mean, I  _ did _ , but that wasn’t.” Seven groaned and closed his eyes, leaning down. “So stupid,” he whispered to himself.

MC blinked, then giggled softly. She gently cupped her hands around his jaw and coaxed Seven to face her again. When she saw how red his face was and how wide his eyes were, she leaned into nuzzle her nose against his.

“Hey, that’s my boyfriend you’re insulting,” she teased, then leaned back to send him a little smirk. “Though I must say, I’ve never been someone’s baby before.”

Seven cringed. “I-I really am sorry.”

“Why?”

“I know that some girls have issues with that, especially so soon, and…”

MC hummed, tapping her chin in mock contemplation. “I don’t think I am one of those girls. It's different, sure. But I didn’t dislike the name.”

She paused to look at Seven, noting how his shoulders lowered with ease and how his breathing evened from its panicked state. MC smiled and leaned in again.

“In fact, I don’t think I mind at all, being your baby,” she near purred. “As long as you're mine too.”

Once again, Seven turned red as he gaped at her. A strangled groan crawled up his throat, and Seven dipped down to hide in MC’s right shoulder. MC laughed and gently stroked his hair, a tender gesture that made Seven’s heart tremble.

“Luciel, sweetheart, are you okay?” She asked between giggles.

Seven groaned louder and tightened his arms around her.

“Damn it, d-don’t call me th-that,” he stuttered.

MC turned her head to nuzzle his, her smile gentle.

“Did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head. “N-no. I just...I wasn’t ready.”

“...Wasn’t ready?”

Seven almost whimpered. How could he explain what hearing those little pet names, directed at him no less, did to his heart? How could he explain how overwhelmed he was? How could he articulate his desire for MC to always call him such sweet things, and his fear of said desire? All that training, hacking, and those awful things he had to do as an agent didn’t prepare him for this. Nothing prepared him for this.

And so, he kept on holding her.

Luckily, MC had come to understand a lot of things about Seven since knowing him. Even more now that they were dating.

So with another laugh, MC started stroking his head, gently running a hand through his hair and lightly scratching his scalp. A motion she’d learned was extra soothing for him. Seven sighed and nearly went lax; MC nuzzled him, grinning.

“Now who’s being cute,” she teased.

“I am  _ not _ cute.” He lifted his head to glare at her, his face still flushed. “I'm hardcore as fuck.”

“Why not both? You once said you had a cute side.”

“...I don’t recall that convo.”

MC quirked an eyebrow. “ _ Really _ ?”

“Nope nope nope.”

“...You know, I can just prove you wrong by going through months of RFA chats and showing you.”

Seven smirked, also raising a brow. “Ah, but how do you know I haven’t deleted those so-called chats?”

MC pouted. He had a point. But even so, she narrowed her eyes.

“You’re bluffing,” she said.

He nodded, smiling. “I am~”

MC shook her head, also smiling. Then she kissed his cheek.

“C’mon, Spaceman,” she cooed, slowly removing herself from her lap. “Let’s go home.”

Seven brightened. “Which one? Mine or yours?”

“Hmm. Yours today, I think. You have a better system for Overwatch.”

* * *

 

**2\. Movies**

“I’ll never understand your taste in movies,” Seven once again said, his tone droll and look just as flat.

From her spot on his lap, MC lightly smacked the thigh she was laying her head on. She beamed at the television screen, her eyes lit up as Luke Skywalker approached Darth Vader, prepared to battle and avenge his mentor. Little did he realize that, in a few minutes more, he would discover just how similar he and Vader truly were. The way a child is a faint mirror of a parent. It was a scene that was ever praised, even now, when the time of space drama and cheap special effects was long over. MC lived for this scene, has lived for it since she was five years old and clashing toy lightsabers with her father.

(“Mi-Cha, join me, and we will rule the galaxy together--as father and daughter!”

_ Giggle.  _ “Never, Daddy!”)

“Oh, please!” Seven couldn’t help but sigh as Luke cried out in horror and sorrow, lacking a hand and any understanding of his reality. “It was so obvious, dude! His name is Vader, which  _ literally  _ means ‘Father’ in German--”

And then there was her boyfriend, who loved to ruin everything.

Despite rolling her eyes, MC couldn’t help but grin. She turned on her back to stare up at him. As Seven tipped his head to smirk down at her, his expression wry but holding a tinge of affection, she reached out to lightly scratch at his chin.

“Can’t have anything good around you, can I?” She teased.

His brow quirked. “ _ Star Wars _ is hardly good. Especially when compared to the sophistication that is  _ Star Trek _ .”

MC gaped her mouth open, ready to retort, but then paused. She narrowed her eyes. “...Which series?”

Seven grinned wide, his lenses glinting. “J.J. Abrams, of course.”

_ Oh. Oh, hell NAW. _

“You shut your whore mouth!”

MC punched at his shoulder, making Seven burst out laughing. She sat up, laying playful punch after punch to him, her grin wide.

“How dare you,” she kept saying between giggles.

“I know, I know,” he would reply, putting up his hands to block the little punches.

“You are a shame to the geek community!”

“Oh,  _ always _ !”

“I don’t even know if I can look at you!”

“Well, that’s a shame.” Seven grabbed her wrists, stopping her punches, and leaned forward to smile down at her, so close that MC nearly lost her breath. “Because I quite love looking at you.”

MC nibbled her bottom lip, but closed her eyes. “Nope. Can’t charm me that way.”

“Oh no? Then I’ll have to try other methods.”

And then Seven joined his lips with hers, a gentle clash of flesh that MC never got tired of. As his hands stroked her jaw and drew her closer, she moaned a little and knotted her hands in his red shirt. They parted after a moment, and Seven sent her a smile, his expression too warm and sweet. MC tilted her head a little, lifting her shoulder a little, a coy smile along her face.

“I suppose I shall grace you with my gaze in turn,” she said casually. “You’re lucky you’re cute, God Seven.”

Seven nuzzled her cheek. “Knew you’d see it my way, Mi-Cha.”

She giggled and scratched at his head, his hair soft and shaggy between her fingers. “If you say so…”

MC shifted to sit fully on Seven’s lap, cuddling back onto him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and faced the movie again. He leaned his chin on her head.  

“This movie is crap though,” Seven started again.

She laughed and cupped her palm over his hand near her hip, stroking his knuckles with warm fingers.   
“Whatever you say, Spaceman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost gave Yoosung a sex scene at the beginning, to show him having close encounters with a different sort of pussy (hon hon hon~), but I decided not to. Not yet. I don't even know if I should pair him with anyone? With the idea I have for him, as an "explanation" for his little attitude, I'm still trying to figure out if it would fit.
> 
> Seven and MC are totally gon do the do, though. But in small steps.


	9. Little Moments (II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Seven meets MC's friends, and MC and Seven start to...experiment. *waggles eyebrows*

* * *

**Meeting Friends**

Seven was never a fan of parties,  or going out in general, unless it had to do with something he was interested in. He did attend the RFA parties, of course, but only because those parties were more exciting than others. (Seriously, where else are you going to find partygoers that own a cat hotel? Or someone who calls themselves @God?) However, he knew that MC was a more social creature than he was, so when she’d asked him if he wanted to join her for a dinner with some friends from college, he immediately said yes, if only to please her.

“Whoo!” MC coughed a little on the Fireball she’d just downed, her cheeks flushing and her smile getting more languid. “That was _good_.”

“Mi-Cha, hun,” her closest friend, Eun-gin grinned with a hint of concern. “You keep taking those shots, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

“I know, I know,” she replied, waving it off. “But it tastes _so_ good.”

Another friend, Lee grinned, lifting her own shot. “ _Yeah_ , it does.”

The two girls took their shots and smoothly swallowed the whiskey. Eun-gin and Mimi, another friend, shook their head with amused smiles. MC licked her lips, feeling a warmth settle in her belly, and she leaned into Seven’s shoulder (he was sitting next to her in the booth). The minute she smelled him, that familiar sweet-salt smell of Honey Buddha and a little something else she couldn’t name yet, MC moaned a little and nuzzled into him. Seven smiled down at her and lightly ran his hand through her hair.

He leaned over to ask her softly, “You alright, baby?”

MC nodded, lightly running a finger down his chest in a way that was _not_ innocent. She looked up at him with hooded eyes, which were clouded with drink.

“I’m _perfect_ ,” she nearly purred.

Seven nearly snorted, but lifted an eyebrow instead. “Yeah?”

MC nuzzled closer to him. “Mm- _hmm_.”

He looked up at her three friends, his smile turning a little awkward. ( _What do they think of me?_ )

“Should I be worried?”

Lee laughed, then flicked her dyed blonde hair. “Nah, she’s fine.”

“You should worry when she orders the Kraken,” Mimi said, her voice a sort of drone, though her smile looked friendly. “That’s when she goes a little... _wild_.”

Seven blinked. “...Wild?”

Mimi smirked, then shot a look to Lee. “Show him the pics from my birthday.”

“Which one?”

“Last year, _duh_.”

Eun-gin let out a strangled chuckle, casting a nervous glance at Seven. “H-hey, c’mon guys. We don’t even know if he’d be cool seeing that--”

“Too late, already bringing them up!” Lee was beaming, holding a hint of sadism that kind of made Seven like her right away. She reached over to pass him the phone, her smile curling into something devious. “Here y’go, Tomato. Just so you know what you’re in for.”

Seven blinked at the images on the phone, and started scrolling. Then he narrowed his eyes, almost in disbelief.

“Hold on, is that a stripping pole--in a karaoke bar?” His eyes widened. “And is MC--!”

That basically sobered MC so fast, she nearly got whiplash lifting her head.

“Seven, _no_! No, no, don’t look! Damn you, Lee,” she threw a glare at her friend, then attempted to reach for the phone.

Seven pressed his palm to her head and made sure to keep the phone out of MC’s reach, his eyes never leaving the images of MC pole dancing with the sort of expertise that made him both curious and more than a little turned on. Though his mouth was twitching with the urge to grin, he kept his face stony. Like he was a scientist making a new discovery, one that needed to be handled with the most serious care.

“Huh, I didn’t realize you were so flexible,” he said, almost too casually.

MC blushed a bright red, sputtering out incoherent words. All her friends, except Mimi, burst out into giggles. Seven allowed himself to grin wide as he looked at her, an odd but familiar satisfaction sparking his blood. Teasing MC was such a rare occurrence, and he kind of liked the shot of power it gave him when she got all flustered.

Seven chuckled and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “Luckily for you, I have a pole just like this one in my house.”

MC blinked. _What…?_

“Maybe you could put on a little show for me when I take you home.”

A little squeak left her mouth, and MC was certain her face was steaming. Seven lightly mouthed at the skin near her earlobe, making MC’s heart stutter and her hands twitch. Biting her lip, she threw a look across the table, saw how her three friends were watching the scene with little smirks.

 _You’re welcome_ , Mimi mouthed to her.

(In the end, of course--because MC was a mix of tipsy and tired, and needed water and a warm bed more than anything else--Seven never got his show. But as he lay beside MC under his quilt, smiling at her sleeping face, Seven still felt the night was anything but a disappointment. Besides, they could always try the next morning.)

* * *

**Dream**

“Seven,” she gasped, tossing her head back against the wall. MC bit her lip and clenched her hands around his shoulders. “ _Seven_.”

Seven barely paused in his movements inside her. He lifted his head to watch her, took in her blushing cheeks, her parted mouth, and her closed eyes; then his eyes wandered to her state of dress. MC’s blouse had been torn open, the buttons bursting apart and some even sprayed to the floor, leaving her tits to bounce within her lacy bra; her rather loose and flowy skirt was hiked to her hips, allowing him to watch his cock plunge into her. Seven took all of MC in and felt his mouth water. Gluing his wild gaze back to her face, he moved his hands to her ass and fucked into her deeper, _harder_ against the wall.

MC gasped, her eyes popping open wide and hungry, and with a whimper she tightened her legs around his hips. Seven felt her clench around him, needy and wet and _tight_ , and he let out a little growl. He kept his rhythm, leaning his forehead close to hers.

“You like that?” He rasped.

MC moaned, tightening her grip on his shoulders. “Yes!”

“You feel close?”

The way MC nodded, chewing her lip and moaning and _desperate_ , sent a jolt through Seven’s heart. He wanted to always be the one to do this to her, to make her like this. Not able to resist anymore, he clashed his mouth to hers, coaxed her mouth to part to deepen the kiss, to swallow her sounds. As Seven kissed her, he slowly shifted one of his hands to thumb at her clit, and MC purred into his mouth.

The rest of Seven’s world faded, making him piercingly aware of only her warmth, her taste, their slick skin slapping together, the clatter of things falling from the wall and crashing onto the floor, that _sound_ MC made when she came, high-pitched and _beautiful_ , her nails digging through his shirt, raking down his back, how her body squeezed him, _so fucking good, I can’t, I need,_ **_shit_ ** \--

Seven woke up nearly gasping, his eyes wide and facing a wall. He blinked slowly, remembering that he was in MC’s bedroom, that he’d decided to stay with her over the weekend, since they had a day off on Monday. He attempted to shift his position in bed, but then cringed, his eyes shooting to glare down at his still very erect and restrained dick.

Rolling his eyes, Seven let out a sigh and turned onto his back, now very much awake in too many ways. He looked over at MC, saw her sleeping peacefully, and found himself recalling his dream with a swallow.

This wasn’t the first time Seven had dreamed of MC, and it wouldn’t be the last. However, this was the first time his dreams had ever been so--so _aggressive._ Normally, dream sex with MC was movie sex. Bare skin, sweet kisses, gentle touches, whispered sweet nothings, rose petals on sheets, laced fingers...basically, the sort of lovemaking Seven always wanted to experience with MC. The sort of lovemaking she deserved.

Seven should not want to fuck her so hard that she’d forget her own name (but not his, _never_ his). Should not want to devour her with kisses, and bites to her flesh. Should not desire or enjoy the sight of her body bouncing to his. Should not want to make her scream, or beg for him until her throat went raw, should not even dream of _wrecking_ MC in such a way. But damn, Seven realized with a quick lick to his mouth, he really, _really_ wanted to.

_Shit, what does that mean?_

MC sighed in her sleep, letting out a little keening sound that echoed in Seven’s head, mingling with the sounds he’d dreamed of her making. He took in a sharp breath, balled his hand in the bed sheets. None of this was helping him with his problem. Seven needed to get out of this bed, out of this room; needed to go anywhere he could release this tension, without disturbing MC.

Just as he began to sit up and _get the hell out of here_ , Seven felt a light tug on his shirt. He looked down at MC again, saw her eyes still closed, but her mouth curled into a little smirk.

Then she opened one eye. “Having trouble sleeping, Seven?”

Seven twitched, not knowing whether he should rage at or deeply kiss the smug off MC’s face.

( _...Is this what they call being “tsundere”?_ )

“N-no!” He protested. “I just had a…a _weird_ dream.”

MC opened both eyes now, chuckling and smirking wider. She propped herself up on her elbows and glanced down at the very prominent tent in Seven’s sweatpants. She licked her mouth a bit, then looked up at Seven, who was still very flustered and looking very much _caught_. MC hooded her eyes and gently reached for Seven, lightly fingering the drawstring lightly tying his pants together.

“What sort of dream?” She asked, her voice low and rough from sleep.

Again, Seven twitched. Despite the flush in his cheeks, he mustered up the most searing glare available to him. (Side note: It was _adorable_.)

“I have this odd feeling you already know,” he nearly growled.

MC giggled, then shifted closer to him. Again, she eyed his erection and hooked her fingers into his waistband. Then she leaned her cheek against his shoulder, turning to lightly brush her lips against Seven’s neck.

“I have a pretty good idea.”

Seven took a deep breath and closed his eyes, now back on his back. “...MC, you’re really not helping.”  

MC let go of his waistband, but still lightly trailed her fingers along his abdomen. As she leaned over him, she lay warm kisses up his neck--something that made Seven swallow hard, his breathing gone shallow--and MC didn’t stop until she reached his earlobe.

“Tell me then,” she whispered. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

Seven’s breath hitched, his eyes popping wide open. He turned to stare up at MC, his mouth opening and closing. MC stared back at him, tilting her head.

 _...Did I go too far?_ She thought with an embarrassed flush. MC sat up with a small smile and rubbed the back of her neck.

“U-um, was I too pushy? I’m really s-sorry,” MC said. “I know we had agreed to take it slow, but when I saw...I just…”

Seven blinked wide eyes. MC noticed and with a little whimper, she covered her red face. How could she have messed up so soon…? They _just_ started dating a month ago.

But then a familiar pair of hands were gently lifting hers away, and before MC could speak, Seven kissed her. With lips warm and soft, he mouthed at her, drawing MC to part her mouth and deepen the kiss.

With a light moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck, while Seven pulled her onto his lap. MC straddled his hips and pushed herself as close to him as possible, until her breasts were plush against his chest. Seven groaned and moved his hands, one to her back, and the other to tangle in her hair. And then, he rolled his hips up to hers, making sure to thrust his arousal into her, his heat bleeding through her thin boyshorts.

MC let out another moan and parted from Seven, letting out light gasps onto his mouth. Seven let out shuddering breaths of his own, and regarded MC’s wide eyes with a hooded look.

“Never apologize,” he said, then thrusted up to her again, drawing MC to whimper. Seven added, voice deep and rough, “Never apologize for making me feel this way.”

Grasping his shoulders, MC rolled her hips onto his in turn and bit her lip. Oh, she had more fuel to her fantasies now, if Seven’s implied size told her anything. As she focused on brushing her now very sensitive core against him, MC let out little sounds and watched as Seven regarded her hungrily.

“You have any idea how hard it is right now,” Seven nearly growled, his hands fingering at her shorts. “To not rip these away, to stop myself from taking you in any way I can think of? To not bring you to your knees, so I can see how pretty you’d look with my cock down your throat?”

MC felt how he throbbed against her and gasped, thinking of how _good_ he’d taste, how he’d feel inside her.

“I want to be nice, y’know. Want to be sweet for you, because you deserve that more than anything.”

Seven moved his hands under her shirt, shifted to grope MC’s lush tits. He groaned at their softness, how they almost felt too big in his hands, and he longed to taste them. Seven instead turned to kiss at MC’s neck, continuing to whisper his desires to her.

“But damn it, I still want you in every visceral way. The kind of want where I’m not sweet or patient, or anything like the way a perfect lover should be,” Seven nearly growled. “The desire to fuck you until just walking makes you ache, to make you scream and moan until your throat hurts, until your brain is overwhelmed with thoughts of me and me alone.”

“Is that, mmm,” MC moaned and rolled her hips harder to his, trying to chase whatever pleasure she and him could get from such friction. “Is that what you were dreaming about?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Seven said, hot breath on her mouth.

“Tell me about it. Please, I-I need to know, I need--ah!”

Suddenly, MC was on her side again. She blinked and saw Seven smiling at her, his eyes still dark and warm. Then he shifted away from her and turned back on his back, his gaze still glued to hers.

“...Watch me, okay,” Seven said before slowly pulling his pants down, allowing his erection to pop out, looking almost proud.

MC let out a shuddering breath, her eyes going wide as she took him in. She swallowed hard, a little whimper working its way up her throat.

“ _Fuck_ me,” she almost moaned. Then MC shut her mouth, her wide eyes shooting a look to Seven, who was grinning. “Um, I mean. UH.”

He let out a snort that bled into a chuckle, and then sent her a knowing wink. “A later chapter, I’m afraid.”

MC paused, quirking an eyebrow. _What…?_

Before she could think about it, Seven joined his lips with hers. MC moaned against his mouth, her eyes shutting slowly. Seven answered with a nip at her bottom lip, coaxing her mouth to open. He exhaled sharply as the kiss deepened and wrapped one hand around his arousal. With his free hand, Seven tugged at MC’s shorts.

“Take them off,” he said when they parted, his voice rough. “I want to see you. Please.”

MC blinked up at smoldering gold eyes, before shooting down to see Seven stroking himself. Not trusting herself to speak, especially with how wide her smile was now, MC nodded and pushed her shorts down to her knees, her hands immediately reaching to ease her own desire.


	10. Next Steps, and Foreshadowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Seven and MC take a step forward, and Yoosung meets with a familiar face.
> 
> (I.E. This is, like, 95% self-indulgent smut/fluff, along with 5% of plot. Proceed with caution.)
> 
> NOTE: Edited, because I don't want to make peeps uncomfortable. Also, I think this was sweeter anyway.

* * *

“ _Fuck_ , you’re beautiful. So much better than my dreams…” 

It was too easy to get lost in Seven’s whispers in her ear, of the details of his dream and his own desires, and other sweet nothings; in watching his hand work his arousal in tandem with her own movements to her sex. MC let out a whimper and closed her eyes, the middle and ring fingers of her right hand stroking over her swollen clit. With her left, she pushed down the collar of her tank top and rubbed at her tits as best as she could, moaning as her fingers squeezed around a nipple. 

Seven clenched his teeth and tightened his hand at his base, his pupils blown wide. He watched her some more, barely choking down a moan of his own. Shakily, he removed his hand from his cock and sat up on his elbows, nearly hovering over MC. Seven raked his molten gaze down her form, a deep flush splashed across his cheeks, and he slowly licked his lips. 

“MC, open your eyes.” 

MC did and slowed her hands, her bottom lip drawn to her teeth. Seven clenched his hands into her sheets and leaned down until their noses were brushing.

“Please, I want,” he breathed, “I _need_ —”

MC grabbed his collar and pulled him down, closing the distance between them with a hard kiss. Seven tilted his head and returned the kiss, shifting to press close to her. MC moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, arching into him. Once their lips parted to deepen the kiss, MC curled one leg around his hip and rolled her bare hips onto him. Seven gasped, his eyes snapping wide open. 

“W-w-whoa, MC, _wait_ ,” he hissed, feeling her wetness coat the curve of his arousal, hot and just _too_ tempting. Seven groaned and tipped his head forward, to MC’s shoulder, feeling his control crumble. “Oh _shit_ …!” 

“Please, Seven,” MC whimpered, turning to mouth at the spot under his ear. “I want you so bad.” 

 _Oh, that is_ really _not helping_ , Seven panted, tilting to lean his throat into her hot mouth. As if to respond, MC wrapped her other leg around him and tightened her grip. Soon, her kisses to his neck turned to hungry nips that jolted all the way to his cock. _So not helping..._  

“Ah, sweetheart, you feel so good already, so nice and big,” she moaned, her mouth curving upward as Seven groaned between clenched teeth. MC kissed his earlobe and whispered, “You're going to feel _perfect_ inside me.”

And with that, Seven grabbed whatever was left of his control and _smothered_ it. 

MC blinked and felt him grasp around her wrists, his touch warm and grip loose. When she looked up, Seven stared back. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"Is this...?" He asked, shooting a look to her hands.

MC smiled back, wide enough to dimple her flushed cheeks. With a slight maneuver of her hands out of his, she laced their fingers together and squeezed gently as she guided them to rest above her head, a gesture that made Seven melt. MC leaned forward to playfully peck at his nose. 

"Go crazy," she said, her mouth curled.

His eyes grew dark with an almost cruel _want._ With one hand, Seven pulled his pants over himself and then gently laced his fingers back with hers. And as he nestled back between her legs, pressing _deliciously_ close, MC felt a sweet shudder go through her. 

“You little cocktease,” Seven purred, his mouth curled into a cruel smirk that _did things_ to MC and her insides. “You are so lucky I’m close.” 

Cheeks red and eyes wide, MC couldn’t help the squeak that escaped her. Suddenly, Zen’s “beast” comment made all the sense in the world, _hoo boy_. 

And then, Seven moved. He closed his eyes, his breath shuddering, and ground his arousal into where he wanted to be most—hard and rough, purely to chase his pleasure. MC watched him, whimpering at the roughness of his sweats against her sensitive skin. It wasn’t long before Seven was parting his mouth to let out sounds that were low and rough, the movements of his hips stuttering into hers, the twitch of his arousal against her own. As her heart thudded against her ribs, MC leaned up to kiss along Seven’s jaw. 

“Go ahead, God Seven,” she said to him, “Cum for me.” 

Seven gasped, his eyelids clenching tighter, and his hips stuttered to a jolting halt against her. MC leaned back to look at him, her heart fluttering in awe. 

 _Damn, he’s beautiful._  

As he released her hands and leaned on his elbows, Seven buried his face in MC’s neck and breathed her in. MC nuzzled his crown and hugged him around the shoulders. 

It was only when his own breathing became controlled that Seven realized, _Holy shit._  

“MC, are you okay?!” He nearly jumped up on his arms, his eyes wide as his face lit up. “Shit, I didn’t mean to go that far, but I, you, I mean—” 

“I’m pretty good, actually.” MC grinned up at him and laced her fingers behind his nape. “I mean, I was hoping to at least touch you, but I still consider this a win.”

Seven smiled, feeling relief slump his shoulders. 

“Good.” Then, after a thought, his eyes gleamed with that predatory light once more, causing MC’s eyes to widen. With another smirk, Seven added, “Because it’s your turn.” 

Again, MC squeaked.

* * *

It was a regular Friday night in the Midnight Cafe, a little coffee shop run on SKY University’s campus. It was the only cafe in the city that stayed open past one in the morning, run for students and even by students, at least a little bit. Though it was usually crowded during the week, tonight it was quite silent. The only people inside were some Lit/Creative Writing majors on their laptops, workshopping together; the baristas, and Yoosung Kim. 

Yoosung was still on his first cup of coffee, along with some chocolate filled fish bread on the side. For the thousandth time in the past hour, he looked up from his phone and stared at the entrance into the cafe. Still no sign of “ _them_ ” yet. 

His stomach dropped. What if “they” didn’t show…? 

As if on cue, his phone vibrated, signaling a new text. He knew who it was from immediately. Yoosung quickly checked the RFA app, to the private messages. He swallowed at the words.

 _“Hey, sorry for being late. I’m coming in now.”_  

The bell above the cafe’s door rang, cueing someone new coming in. Yoosung didn’t look up, not even when he heard the steps coming towards his table, when he heard the person shift the chair on the other side and sit down. He tightened the grip on his phone, feeling a hot familiar feeling surge through him. 

“...It’s good to see you again, Yoosung.” 

Finally, he looked up. His purple eyes were sharp with anger, despite the deep breaths Yoosung was taking. 

“V,” he acknowledged, keeping his voice as level as possible. “Wish I could say the same.” 

V swallowed hard, his clouded eyes focusing on a spot behind Yoosung’s head. His hands curled and clenched along the table, much like an animal cornered, like one who wanted to escape. Seeing that sent a thrill through Yoosung’s being, though he felt terrible about it. After all, this meeting wasn’t about him, or his misgivings. 

“How,” V hesitated, then clenched his jaw. “How is MC?” 

(Yoosung choked as he saw a frantic Seven running out of Mint Eye, with MC on his back, and Jaehee and Zen not too far behind. 

MC looked too pale, even with Seven’s jacket over her body—her _naked_ body, _Oh my God_ —and while both of her eyes were closed, it was still easy to see one bleeding out. And as she got closer, it became easy to see the blood running along her neck, her legs…

His face gone ashen and feeling more than a little ill, Yoosung nearly fell back against Seven’s truck. He grasped his chest, feeling something searing painfully through him. 

 _Who?_ Was all he could think, even as Seven ordered him to start the car, as they all shoved inside—though Seven did so more gently, holding MC and staring down at her with a look that was tearful and desperate, like she was the world _and more_ —and it continued to echo as Yoosung grasped the steering wheel and sped all the way to the nearest hospital. **_Who?_** ) 

“Still breathing,” Yoosung said, too casual for the throb inside his chest. “Going blind in one eye; still traumatized from y’know, being tortured and _nearly dying_ ; oh, and she has a haircut! A cute one too. In case you hadn’t noticed, being _gone_ and all.” 

V blinked, but there was a slight tremble in his mouth. “...And everyone else?” 

Yoosung plastered on a smile, the gaze in his eyes empty. “Oh, we’re fantastic! Not worried about any crazy hackers or twisted cults anymore, no siree bob. And _definitely_ no worries towards one of our newest friends, not to mention our still-working party planner. 

“Oh yeah,” he decided to add, with some genuine warmth, “Seven and MC are dating! But let’s be honest, that wasn’t hard to see, even with all the drama-drama-drama around them. 

“And with Jumin leading the RFA now, we’re just _oh-so_ better than ever.”

 _Without you_ , Yoosung wanted to add, but he held it back with a deep sigh, his expression going hard. Seriously, now was not the time to bitch at V.

“But this isn’t about them. In fact, I want to avoid involving the RFA as much as possible.”

V nodded, holding what looked like— _for once_ —a strong resolve in his eyes. He leaned close across the table, and Yoosung met him, leaning on his forearms. His purple eyes flashed, his pupils nearly slits.

“Tell me what you know,” he said, his voice low and secret. “About this Mint Eye.”

And as the meeting went on, V and Yoosung speaking in hushed voices over untouched cups of coffee, all Yoosung could wonder right now was what two of his precious friends were doing, and if they were being safe.

* * *

 

MC whimpered as Seven curled his two fingers inside her, easily brushing against the spot that made her body sing. His hands were rough and calloused, but felt so _good_ on her skin, her body. And with him so close, his mouth at her neck and his teeth sinking into her skin, MC could feel her head become overwhelmed with desire, with all that they've been doing. She grasped his shoulders with trembling hands. 

“Seven,” she choked, turning her head to plead into his neck, “ _Seven_ , sweetheart, I need to—” 

Seven kissed her deeply, groaning. 

“Mi-Cha, I-I want you to say my real name,” he gasped between kisses. “Please.” 

“ _Luciel—_ ” 

“No, not that one.” 

MC paused, blinking. Not because she didn’t know he had another name — Seven had all kinds of secrets, layers that she’d yet to discover, and she loved the adventure of discovering more — but because she was certain this was something he’d never reveal to her. Something he was too terrified to reveal, despite how long they’ve known each other, despite the past two months of dating and loving each other. 

(“It’s not a bad name, no...but my history with it is _ugly_ , so much so that I’m often too terrified to face it. You might not want me anymore if I told you…”) 

Seven swallowed hard, but leaned back to stare into her eyes. She smiled back, small and tender, especially as Seven shakily opened and closed his mouth a few times. 

“Saeyoung,” he said finally, almost in a gasp. “That’s my name.” 

MC felt her heart jump, and her smile widened. She shifted her hands to the back of his head, lightly scratching at his nape. She leaned up to press her mouth to his, putting all her love and pride into the kiss.

“Saeyoung,” she murmured when they parted, and then she kissed him again. “Saeyoung—” 

Saeyoung let out a sound that was desperate against her mouth and then parted from her with a gasp. He laid a hot trail of kisses down her neck, then down to her collar bone. With a growl, he began mouthing at her breasts, his mouth hot and wet on the sensitive flesh; all while stroking his fingers harder into her. 

MC tossed her head back, her mouth parted to let out little moans and gasps of his name, but then she paused. Saeyoung wasn’t stopping his kisses down her body. In fact, by the time he started nibbling at her stomach, MC felt her pulse screaming a mix of desire, and a little insecurity. 

 _I-is he…?_  

She sat up on her elbows. “W-wait, Seven—”

He smacked a palm against the swell of her ass, searing gold eyes darting up to meet her. MC’s breath hitched. The impact wasn’t hard, but _different_. The sort of different she hoped to explore with him at another time. 

“Told you,” he said, his voice rough and something primal. “Want you to moan my real name.”

MC blushed a dark red, her throat tight.

( _Oh, yeah. Definitely something to explore for next time. God **damn**._ )

“I-I’m sorry, Saeyoung. I was just—a-are you…?”

Saeyoung sat up, his eyes still burning into her. “I want to taste you. Want to feel you fall apart to my mouth, my tongue. May I?”

She clenched her hands into her sheets, her eyes wide.

“ _Yes_!”

 _Oh fuck, did that sound desperate…?_  And then, _Fuck it, I'm going for it._

“Y-yeah, sure. I just...just wanted to make sure,” MC floundered, trying to summon back her cool.

Smirking hungrily and humming to himself, Saeyoung leaned down to lay a warm kiss to her hip, then mouthed hotly down her thighs.

“You’re so beautiful, Mi-Cha,” he said into her skin. “And you always feel so perfect. Want you so much.”

MC felt her breathing stutter, and could only lay back; her legs spread and Saeyoung whispering sweet things into her skin. Soon, he was nipping at her thighs, suckling the skin as he got closer to the area where she needed him most. Her hands clenched again in her sheets, longing for his hair.

Saeyoung licked at her inner thigh, his breath hot. He eyed MC and then her wet pussy, and then swiped his tongue across his mouth. Saeyoung breathed hot against her, his eyes glancing upward to give MC one last searing look. And then—

“Oh!” MC moaned, her eyes popping wide open.

They quickly misted over as Saeyoung pressed his tongue to her clit, swirling slow but tight circles along the bud. Then, taking care to apply the same pressure, he started licking down to her entrance, then back to her clit.

MC arched her back, tossing her head back, and shut her eyes with a moan. She reached out to curl her hand into Saeyoung’s hair, stroking at the strands. Noting MC’s reactions, Saeyoung kept stroking his tongue along her pussy, only pausing to either suckle her folds, or to test out which movements caused MC to moan and squirm. Just as her wetness spread, as her arousal peaked, MC let out a strangled sound, her eyes popping open.

“Saeyoung, _fuck_ ,” she cried, clenching her hands in his hair as she attempted to guide him. “I need you here, baby, right _here_.”

Saeyoung smirked a little and allowed MC to push him back at her entrance. He took one glance at how pink and wet she was and suddenly felt ravenous. Resting one arm across her hips and holding her in place, he lightly licked at her entrance, and then thrust his tongue inside as far as it would go, making sure to give special focus to that little spot that made her see stars.

MC nearly jumped, sat up on her elbows, and let out a little scream.

“ _Yes_! Saeyoung, yes.” She clenched the sheets again, not wanting to pull on his hair, and choked out between moans, “Make me cum, sweetheart. Need to cum so bad. Need _you_ so bad—anh!”

 _A little talker, huh._ Saeyoung hummed against her, his breathing huffing through his nose, and lost himself to her sounds, her voice. Damn, he loved her voice like that, loved how she begged, praised him. And if she said such things to his mouth, shit, what would MC be like to his cock? Just the thought was making him twitch all over. With a groan, he stroked his tongue harder inside her, while circling her clit with his thumb.

MC clenched her eyes shut, stars lighting her vision, her mouth parting to let out moans. _Just a little more, a little more—_

And when she finally broke to him, it was no graceful thing. Nothing like the movies, where women are silent and elegant in their orgasms. No, MC’s orgasm was wet and hot and heart-stopping and _loud_. Like, neighbors might end up complaining loud. MC cried out words that were indistinguishable under her strangled moan. Her legs flailed a little, one lifting off the bed and stretching wide, inviting. And Saeyoung groaned with her, his mouth drawing out each wave of her orgasm.

Finally, as her limbs lit up with an exhausted, cathartic warmth, MC collapsed onto the bed panting. Closing her eyes, she let out a trail of whimpers, satisfied and longing and exhausted. Saeyoung finally sat up from his place and wiped away any excess wetness from his chin, his mouth spread into a grin. He stroked MC’s flushed face, brushing away her damp bangs from her eyes. MC slowly opened her eyes.

“Well, hello there,” Seven purred, waggling his eyebrows.

MC blinked and hunched her shoulders in a shrug, her smile bashful and so cute.

“Hey gurl hey~” She drawled back, giggling.

Seven giggled with her and leaned down to claim MC’s lips, thrusting his tongue languidly inside her mouth. MC groaned, tasting herself on him, and reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair. She tilted her head to tangle her tongue with his. Then they parted their mouths and started mouthing at each other’s lips.

“Didn’t realize you, mmmf, were a fan of pillow talk,” he nearly gasped between kisses.

“Mmm, I know, sorry,” she replied, pausing to nip at his bottom lip, and then parted from him with a blush. “It can get a little...obnoxious.” 

“You kidding me? I _loved_ it.”

“...Yeah?”

Seven beamed, his cheeks red and his eyes dark. “ _Fuck_ yeah.”

MC grinned back a moment, then realized.

“Wait, what about you?” She sat up, eyed his pants, and swallowed. “D-do you need me to…?”

Seven shook his head and shifted to rest at her side. “Nope, still good from before.”

MC dimmed, feeling a little guilty. ( _Should I have done more?_ ) 

“Oh. Okay...”

“Don’t worry, MC. I was happy to do that for you.” Seven sent her a wink, adding, “Besides, that reaction will be enough to haunt my fantasies for days.”

“...Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

MC beamed again, wiggling back into her pillow. She turned to face him, her fingers curling into the sheets. Seven’s smile softened, a warm and sweet look in his gaze. He reached out and laced his fingers with hers, a small embrace that MC gladly returned.


End file.
